events 2000-now

1 January 2024, Monday (+28,727)

15 February 2023, Wednesday (+28,400) Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, unexpectedly resigned over controversy with her gender-recognition reforms.

6 February 2023, Monday (+28,398) A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit eastern Turkey and northern Syria, killing over 42,000. It was felt as far away as Egypt.

4 February 2023, Saturday (+28,396) (USA) The US Air Force shot down, off the coast of South Carolina, a Chinese balloon that had drifted over the USA The US alleged it was a spy balloon; China claimed it was an off-course weather balloon. Relations between the two countries, already edgy over Taiwan, deteriorated.

10 January 2023, Tuesday(+28,371) King Constantine II, last King of Greece, died aged 82.

1 January 2023, Sunday (+28,362).

31 December 2022, Saturday (+28,361) Former Pope Benedict XVI died aged 95.

29 December 2022, Thursday (+28,359) Dame Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer, died aged 81.

13 December 2022, Tuesday (+28,343) New Zealand passed a law effectively making it impossible for anyone aged 14 or under there to ever start smoking. The country introduced a minimum age for buying tobacco products, that will rise by one year every year from now. In 2022, 8% of New Zealanders smoked daily, down from 9.4% in 2021, one of the lowest rates in the world.

23 November 2022, Wednesday (+28,288) The UK Supreme Court ruled that Nicola Sturgeon, leader of Scotland�s SNP Party, did not have the authority to call another independence referendum without the consent of Westminster.

21 November 2022, Monday (+28,286) A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Java killed 268 people.

31 October 2022, Monday (+28,265) Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential elections, defeating Jair Bolonaro by 50.9% to 49.1% of the vote.

24 October 2022, Monday (+28,258) Rishi Sunak became Tory Prime Minister, uncontested after Boris Johnson pulled out and Penny Mordaunt failed to reached the 100 MP backers threshold as set by the Tory Party to ensure a swift succession.

20 October 2022, Thursday (+28,254) UK Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after just 44 days in office, saying her manifesto was now �undeliverable�, as global economic and political uncertainty continued, with deep splits in her own Party.

8 October 2022, Saturday (+28,242) The bridge linking Crimea to Russia, built 2018, was blown up

4 October 2022, Tuesday (+28,238)

27 September 2022, Tuesday (+28,231) (1) �Voting� was completed in rigged referendums in four regions of Ukraine occupied by Russia. Predictably the result was for annexation of these regions by Russia, enabling President Putin to claim that the territories were now part of Russia.

(2) NASA collided a space probe with the asteroid Dimorphos, to see if an asteroid threatening to hit Earth could be diverted this way.

25 September 2022, Sunday (+28,229) In Italian elections, the country�s first female Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, was elected, leading the Rightist anti-immigrant Brothers of Italy Party.

17 September 2022, Saturday (+28,221) Ethnic tension between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester, UK, began to mount after an India vs Pakistan cricket match which India won. Underlying causes included a rise in Indian nationalism.

16 September 2022, Friday (+28,220) Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman, died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing the hijab. Following her death, several tens of people died in rioting across Iran.

8 September 2022, Thursday (+28,212) Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral. Charles became King.

6 September 2022, Tuesday (+28,210) Liz Truss became the new UK Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, having defeated Rishi Sunak in a poll of Tory Party members.

2 September 2022, Friday (+28,206) Frank Drake, who developed the Drake equation for estimating the number of alien civilisations in the Milky Way, died aged 92.

30 August 2022, Tuesday (+28,203) (1) Pakistan had seen, over the previous two months, the heaviest rainfall on record and now 72 of its 2160 districts were flood disaster zones.

(2) Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the USSR who oversaw its break up, died aged 91 (born 2 March 1931)

19 July 2022, Tuesday (+28,182) Southern and western Europe experienced a severe heatwave lasting several days with record temperatures seen in Greece, Spain, France and the UK. The UK saw a new record temperature of 40.3 C at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, and saw a record minimum overnight high temperature of 25.9 C at Elmley Moor, Yorkshire. There were severe wildfires in SW France, Spain, the UK and other countries.

8 July 2022, Friday (+28,171) Shinzo Abe, former Japanese PM, was shot and killed by a disaffected Japanese naval veteran.

7 July 2022, Thursday (+28,170) UK PM Boris Johnson announced his resignation, after a large number of resignations from his Cabinet. He faced further sleaze allegations over his Chief Whip, Christopher Pincher, as well as economic issues. Boris said he would remain in post until October, when a new leader would be elected.

5 July 2022, Tuesday (+28,168)

24 June 2022, Friday (+28,157) The US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. This meant there was no longer a Federal right to abortion across the US; individual States were now free to choose whether to permit or outlaw the procedure. Around half the States were on course to ban abortion, with the rest still allowing it.

23 June 2022, Thursday (+28,156) In the UK the Conservatives were badly beaten in two by elections. They lost Wakefield, a �red wall� seat, back to Labour, and Honiton, Devon, went to the Liberal Democrats, having been a safe Tory seat.

21 June 2022, Tuesday (+28,154) A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan., killing 1,000.

6 June 2022, Monday (+28,139) UK PM Boris Johnson won, but unimpressively, a No Confidence vote by 211 votes to 148; 41% of his MPs voted against him. He faced issues of Partygate, and the UK economy was also facing issues such as high inflation, soaring energy food and fuel process, and supply chain issues.

5 June 2022, Sunday (+28,138) A four-day holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth�s Platinum Jubilee (70^th anniversary) concluded with street parties and festivities.

24 May 2022, Tuesday (+28,126) London�s Elizabeth Line opened. It runs from reading to Shenfield, although passengers initially have to change at Paddington.

24 April 2022, Sunday (+28,096) In the final round of the French Presidential elections, Emmanuel Macron won by 58.5% to Marine le Pen�s 41.5%; turnout was just 71.9%, the lowest since 1969. The 2017 result was 66.1% Macron to 33.9% le Pen.

3 April 2022, Sunday (+28,089) In Hungary, Viktor Orban�s Populist Party, Fidesz, won the elections. It secured half the vote but two thirds of Parliamentary seats.

21 March 2022, Monday (+28,076) A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 fell steeply out of the sky near Guangzhou killing all 132 on board. The reason for the steep descent and crash into a mountain was initially unknown.

17 March 2022, Thursday (+28,072) The ferry company P&O sacked 800 staff by video call and replaced them with staff paid just �1.80 an hour.� Few days later after widespread outrage, P&O offered a compensation package to sacked workers.

9 March 2022, Wednesday (+28,064) Refugees from Ukraine now numbered 2.3 million. 1.4m had gone to Poland, 214,000 to Hungary, 97,000 to Russia, 83,000 to Moldova, 85,000 to Romania, 165,000 to Slovakia, and 260,000 to other European countries.

5 March 2022, Saturday (+28,060) Refugees from Ukraine now numbered 1.5 million. 923,000 had gone to Poland, 228,000 had gone to Romania, and 164,000 to Hungary. Others had gone to Slovakia, Moldova and Russia.

2 March 2022, Wednesday (+28,057) Russian forces had now occupied border areas of Ukraine in the north, north-east, east and in the south near The Crimea. Kherson was in Russian hands and Mariupol nearly so, as Russia forged a land bridge to Crimea along the Sea of Azov coastline/ However Putin�s advance was much slower than anticipated, due to four� errors of judgement, 1) The Ukrainians did not welcome Russian troops as liberators form a neo-Nazi regime, 2) Russian troops were less than willing to fight against fellow Slavs, 3) The resistance of Ukraine, backed by the West, was greater than anticipated, and 4) Russia�s invasion produced a greater backlash and Western unity than Putin anticipated, with impetus towards Finland and Sweden joining NATO. 875,000 Ukrainian refuges had fled the country to this date, a number that had almost doubled again by 5 March.

1 March 2022, Tuesday (+28,056) UN support for Russia in opposing a vote �deploring the Russian invasion of Ukraine� was somewhat lukewarm, with just a handful of countries (Belarus, Eritrea, Syria, North Korea) voting with Russia against the resolution, and some, including Russia�s ally China, also India, abstaining. Many countries supported the resolution.

28 February 2022, Monday (+28,055) (1) Western countries imposed a range of sanctions on Russia and Belarus, including travel and flight bans, ejection from the Swift banking system, export boycotts, exclusion from international Games, and pull-outs by Western companies. Russian interest rates quickly rose from 9.5% to 20%.

(2) Singapore maintained an ambiguous position on gay rights when, this day, its Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by three gay rights activists against the constitutionality pf section 377a of the penal code, a colonial-era law that criminalises sex between men, punishable by up to 2 years prison. The Judges avoided the issue of constitutionality by stating that the Court had to take into account the stance of the Government. In 2007 the Singaporean Parliament had debated section 377a and the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said that this law �would not be proactoively enforced�. This leaves open the possibility that it could again be enforced, if Government chose to. Meanwhile the Courtt srgued� that 377a did not violate anybody�s constitutional rights if it was not being enforced. In 2018 the Singapore Attorney-General said it was not in the public interest to prosecute private homosexual acts.

26 February 2022, Saturday (+28,053) Germany promised to send Ukraine 1,000 anti-tank weapons. Western countries have sent a range of supplies to Ukraine, some humanitarian, some military. However NATO declined to either admit Ukraine (it had been seeking this) or to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, on the grounds that this could start a nuclear war between the West and Russia. Ukraine started applying for EU membership.

24 February 2022, Thursday (+28,051) At 5am local time, Russia began a multi-pronged attack on Ukraine, with forces entering the country at Mariupol, Odessa, Luhansk and Donetsk, and from Belarus towards Kiev.

21 February 2022, Monday (+28,048) Vladimir Putin of Russia �recognised the breakaway Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk� which had been part of the Ukraine Republic. This was a pretext for sending in the Russian Army to �support these (Russian) republics�.

16 February 2022, Wednesday (+28,043) Cristina Calderon, last full-blooded member of the Yaghan people of Tierra del Fuego, died aged 93. The Yaghans had numbered around 3,000 in 1850, but just 100 by 1928, when Cristina Calderon was born. In 2022 there were some 50 Yaghans, mainly living a settled life in Bahia Mejillones, the Bay of Mussels, where they eked a living gathering mussels, but none were full blooded Yaghan.

25 January 2022, Tuesday (+28,021) Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalise marijuana, announcing this day that people would be allowed to grow it at home.

23 January 2022, Sunday (+28,019) Staff began evacuating Embassies in Kiev, capital of The Ukraine, as fears of a Russian invasion grew, with increasing numbers of Russian troops and equipment gathered In Russia near the Ukraine border, also in Belarus, a close ally of Russia.

15 January 2022, Saturday (+28,011) The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha�apai volcano near Tonga killed 3 people and left thousands without homes, supplies and internet.

7 January 2022, Friday (+28,003) David Bennett became the first person to receive a pig heart transplant. The pig has been genetically modified to reduce the human rejection factor.

1 January 2022, Saturday (+27,997)

26 December 2021. Sunday (+27,991) Archbishop Desmond Tutu, campaigner against Apartheid, died aged 90.

25 December 2021, Saturday (+27,990) The James Webb space telescope was launched form French Guiana.

16 December 2021, Thursday (+27,981) The Conservatives were heavily defeated in the North Shropshire by-election by the Liberals, in what had been a safe Tory seat since 1832. The election had been triggered by the dismissal of its incumbent Tory MP for financial impropriety, but the election was also a protest vote against the Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself.

1 December 2021, Wednesday (+27,966)

24 November 2021, Wednesday (+27,959) As informal migrant crossings across the English Channel from northern France to Kent� increased markedly over 2020, this day an underinflated dinghy capsized, drowning 27.

23 November 2021, Tuesday (+27,958) A paper detailing Einstein�s early development of the Theory of Relativity, stated to be �one of the most important scientific documents of the 20^th century�, sold at auction for US� 13 million.

20 November 2021, Saturday (+27,955) Rioting in Rotterdam as anti-vaccine crowds clashed with police over lockdown.

16 November 2021, Tuesday (+27,951) (Russia) Belarus, having flown in large numbers of migrants, mainly Iraqi Kurds, to the capital Minsk, now transported them to the Polish border. Poland declined to accept them and a border standoff ensued, as the harsh winter weather approached.

13 November 2021, Saturday (+27,948) The United Nation Change Conference, COP-26, closed in Glasgow. Disappointingly, it looked as if the 1.5 C maximum global warming target would be exceeded, as promises to phase out coal were watered down and delayed.

12 November 2021, Friday (+27,947) (Covid) Austria�s Chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg, announced a Covid lockdown for the unvaccinated only. Within a few hours, 35,000 people were protesting on the streets of Vienna, with similar protests in The Netherlands.

11 November 2021, Thursday (+27,946) The number of migrants crossing the English Channel informally today was 1,185, a new daily record.

1 November 2021, Monday (+27,036)

24 October 2021, Sunday (+27,918)

1 October 2021, Friday (+27,905)

30 September 2021, Thursday (+27,904) At the University of Alabama Hospital, 2 pig kidneys were transplanted into a brain-dead person. They survived 77 hours.

25 September 2021, Saturday (+27,899) At New York University Hospital, a pig kidney was transplanted into a brain dead patient, who survived 54 hours.

24 September 2021, Friday (+27,898) The UK began to experience petrol shortages due to a lack of HGV drivers to deliver the fuel to petrol stations.

19 September 2021, Sunday (+27,893) A volcanic eruption began on La Palma, Canary Islands.

7 September 2021, Tuesday (+27,881) In Mexico the Supreme Court voted unanimously to decriminalise abortion.

5/92021, Sunday (+27,879) President Alpha Conde of Guinea was deposed in a military coup.

1 September 2021, Wednesday (+27,875) The US State of Texas considerably tightened the law on abortion, making it illegal; after a foetal heartbeat could be detected, at 6 weeks. This also applied where the pregnancy was due to incest or rape.

15 August 2021, Sunday (+27,858) The Taleban took Jalabad in eastern Afghanistan, effectively surrounding Kabul. The US evacuated diplomats from its Embassy by helicopter, in scenes reminiscent of Vietnam 46 years earlier.

14 August 2021, Saturday (+27,857) (1) Southern Europe experienced� a record heatwave, with temperatures across Italy and Spain reaching records above 48 C.

(2) The northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif fell to the Taleban, as did Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar Perovince and just 70km from Kabul.

(3) Haiti was struck by a ,magnitude 7.2 earthquake.

13 August 2021, Friday (+27,956) The Pentagon said Kabul was �not under immediate threat� from the Taleban.

12 August 2021, Thursday (+27,955) Herat, Afghanistan., fell to the Taliban.

6 August 2021, Friday (+27,849) Zaranj, in southern Afghanistan, became the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban. They captured several more such cities in the following days, including Kunduz.

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23 July 2021, Friday (+27,835) (Olympics) 32nd Olympics Tokyo, opened. Postponed from 2020, due to Covid19. They took place without spectators, in closed stadiums.

21 July 2021, Wednesday (+27,833) The Taleban now controlled around half of Afghanistan�s districts.

15 July 2021, Thursday (+27,827) (Climate) Severe flooding hit Germany and Belgium after very heavy rainfall; at least 160 were killed, with hundreds more missing.

12 July 2021, Monday (+27,824) (Afghanistan) The Taliban gained territory in Afghanistan as US forces withdrew from the country. By this day, just 600 US personnel were left in Afghanistan, protecting the US Embassy in Kabul and the airport, and the Taliban occupied most of the countryside, poised to occupy the major cities.

7 July 2021, Wednesday (+27,819) (Haiti) Haitian President Jovenal Moise, 53, was assassinated. He had been sworn into office in 2/2017.

2 July 2021, Friday (+27,814) (Afghanistan) The US military quietly shut down the Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan,� and slipped away just before dawn. Before the Afghan army even realised the US had departed, local people had looted the airfield.

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30 June 2021, Wednesday (+27,812) (Climate) A heatwave hit the NW USA and Canada, with Portland Oregon reaching 46.1 C and Lytton, British Columbia hitting 49.6 C. 130 people were reported to have died from the heat around Vancouver.

22 June 2021, Tuesday (+27,804) The Taleban opened an offensive in northern Afghanistan, far from theor traditional southern power base.

7 June 2021, Monday (+27,789) 150 Afghan Government soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours, as fighting with the Taleban raged in 26 of the country�s 34 provinces.

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14 May 2021, Friday (+27,765) (Space exploration) China landed its first probe on Mars.

11 May 2021, Tuesday (+27,762) Nerkh District, just outside Kabul, fell to the Taleban.

10 May 2021, Monday (+27,761) (Israel) As Israel commemorated Israel Day, a national holiday marking Israeli victory in the Six Day War, Hamas began firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. Hamas rockets killed 12 Israelis, and Israeli retaliation into Gaza killed 227. The violence continued for 11 days.

9 May 2021, Sunday (+27,760)

8 May 2021, Saturday (+27,759) Spencer Silver, co-inventor of the Post It note (with Arthur Fry), died (born 6 February 1941).

7 May 2021, Friday (+27,758) A cyber-attack by a group called Darkside shut down the crucial Colonial oil pipeline taking petrol from Texas to supply the east coast of the USA. The pipeline was down for several days, causing motorists to panic-buy fuel.

6 May 2021, Thursday (+27,757) Elections were held across the UK. In the Hartlepool by-election, the Conservatives won the historically-Labour seat. Scotland elected its Parliament and Wales elected a new Senedd. London elected a new Assembly, and there were English local council elections., also 12 new Mayors were elected. The Tories did well in English local council elections, and made a good showing in mayoral city elections, although they failed to unseat Siddiq Khan in London. Conservatives and Labour made inroads in Wales at the expense of the Nationalists, In Scotland the SNP made small gains against Labour, but fell just short of an absolute majority there.

4 May 2021, Tuesday (+27,755) The Taleban launched a major offensive in Afghanistan in southern Helmand Province, and stepped up military action in 6 other provinces.

2 May 2021, Sunday (+27,753) Marcel Stellman died aged 96 (born 15 February 1925). He brought the French TV show Des Chiffres et Des Lettres � Numbers and Letters � to UK TV in 1982 as Countdown. Initially aired for 8 episodes by Yorkshire TV, it was aired by the new Channel Four from November 1982, hosted by Richard Whiteley. Carol Vorderman appeared as co-host 1982-2008. The programme reached it�s 5,000^th episode in 2010.

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19 April 2021, Monday (+27,740) The first controlled flight on another planet was achieved by NASA when it flew a remote-controlled 1.8 kg helicopter on Mars.

14 April 2021, Wednesday (+27,735) US President Biden announced that the Us withdrawal from Afghanistan would be completed by 11 November 2021.

9 April 2021, Friday (+27,730) Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, wife of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, died aged 99.

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30 March 2021, Tuesday (+27,720) Russia began a troops build-up near the Ukrainian border.

23 March 2021, Tuesday (+27,713) A container ship, the Evergiven, strayed off course in the Suze Canal and ran aground on the bank, blocking the waterway.

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19 February 2021, Friday (+27,681) (Weather) Texas was in the 5^th day of� a very cold snap that had killed at least 57 people. Water pipes and wind turbines froze solid, causing power cuts.

1 February 2021, Monday (+27,663) A military coup in Myanmar; in ongoing popular protests against the coup, over 260 people had been killed by the end of March.

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13 January 2021, Wednesday (+27,644) After a Senate vote, President Trump became the first US President to be impeached twice. This second impeachment was based on his alleged incitement of the Capitol Hill rioters of 6 January 2021.

6 January 2021, Wednesday (+27,637) In Washington DC, USA, a mob of several thousand Republican Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol Buildings and occupied them for several hours. They were protesting that the 2020 Presidential Election result, in which Democrat Biden, won, had been falsified.

1 January 2021, Friday (+27,632)

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31 December 2020, Thursday (+27,631) The UK formally left the European Union, at 11.00pm UK time.

30 December 2020, Wednesday (+27,630) (Morals) Abortion was legalised in Argentina.

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23 November 2020, Monday (+27,593) China launched its Chang�e 5 probe towards the Moon.

17 November 2020, Tuesday (+27,587) The Pentagon announced that the number of US troops in Afghanistan would be reduced to 25,000.

13 November 2020, Friday (+27,583) Peter Sutcliffe, lorry driver convicted of 13 murders, the Yorkshire Ripper, died in prison. He had been convicted in 1981, and his sentence converted to whole life in 2010.

9 November 2020, Monday (+27,579) (Covid-19) Pfizer announced that it had developed a reliable vaccine against Covid-19.

4 November 2020, Wednesday (+27,574) (Ethiopia) Insurrection broke out in Tigray Province. The TPLF (Tigray People�s :Liberation Front) accused Eritrea of assisting Ethiopian forces in the conflict; Eritrea fought a border war with Ethiopia when the TPLF dominated the Ethiopian Govermment. From 2018 President Abiy had reduced TPLF influence over central Government, and the flashpoint for this was the postponement of regional elections by Addis Ababa, on the grounds of the Covid pandemic.

3 November 2020, Tuesday (+27,573) (USA) US Presidential elections; victory by the Democrat candidate, Joe Biden, against Republican Donald Trump, announced on 7 November 2020, after the count finally gave Biden over 270 in the State tally. Turnout was very high, amidst a Covid-19 pandemic. Biden had urged his supporters to vote by post (Trump urged his to vote in person) and counting the large number of postal votes, in a close and high-turnout election, took several days.

2 November 2020, Monday (+27,572) (Austria) A major terror attack took place in Vienna. 4 people were killed and 23 injured, several seriously, when an Islamist radicalised Austrian-North Macedonian man went on the rampage with a gun and a knife.

1 November 2020, Sunday (+27,571)

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31 October 2020, Saturday (+27,570) (Aviation) Berlin-Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt finally opened, 9 years late and 3 billion Euros over budget. The planned opening date had been 31 October 2011. It finally became operational in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, when very few people were flying anywhere. Tegel Airport., north of Berlin, was closed immediately, and Schonefeld Airport, close by, became a 5th Terminal for the new facility.

30 October 2020, Friday (+27,569) (Earthquake) A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Izmir, western Turkey, killing 12, also 2 died in nearby Samos, Greece.

16 October 2020, Friday (+27,555) A teenage Chechen refugee beheaded Samuel Paty, a French teacher who had shown his class at a school on the edge of Paris controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

14 October 2020, Wednesday (+27,553) A copy of William Shakespeare�s First Folio sold for a record US$ 9.98 million at auction in New York.

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28 August 2020, Friday (+27,506) (Japan) Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, resigned, having broken the previous length of service record by four days.

18 August 2020, Tuesday (+27,496) Line 6 of the Shenzhen Metro opened.

16 August 2020, Sunday (+27,494) A temperature of 54.4.C was recorded at Furnace Creek, Death Valley, USA.

13 August 2020, Thursday (+27,491) (Israel, Islam) Israel and the United Arab Emirates created diplomatic links; Israel undertook not to �annex more� of the West Bank. Palestinians were disappointed. Israel and the Sunni Arab world have been united by a mutual fear of Shia Iran.

12 August 2020, Wednesday (+27,490) (Railways, social) Three died when a train derailed south of Aberdeen, heavy rain was blamed, which had caused a landslip onto the track.

9 August 2020, Sunday (+27,487) In an election widely held to have been flawed, Lukashenko won an implausible 80% of the vote. Tye Opposition leader, Ms Tikhahovskaya, was credited a tiny 9.9%. Popular protests against the �result� were met by a heavy police crackdown. Lukashenko was backed by Russia and China.

4 August 2020, Tuesday (+27,482) (Lebanon) A huge double explosion devastated Beirut. An explosion and fire in the docks area was followed by a much larger detonation as 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate fertiliser ignited; the fertiliser had been stored there for some six years The detonation was reportedly caused by a welder. There were at least 145 dead and 5,000 injured.

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10 July 2020, Friday (+27,457) (Turkey) The Turkish Council of State voted unanimously to reconvert the Hagia Sofia museum back into a mosque. There were protests from Greek Christians, noting that the building had been built as a church in AS 537 for Byzantine Emperor Justinian, before conversion to a mosque in 1470, and then a museum in 1934 as Turkey secularised under Attaturk. There were suspicions that the move by Turkish President Erdogan was intended to distract from Turkish economic problems.

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18 June 2020, Thursday (+27,435) Dame Vera Lynn, entertainer of the UK forces during World War Two, died (born 20 March 1917).

16 June 2020, Tuesday (+27,433)) (Korea) North Korea blew up the �Liaison Office�, a 4-storey building in a zone of North Korea where South Koreans could work. This was a protest at propaganda balloons and food sent in by southerners from across the border.

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25 May 2020, Monday (+27,411) (USA) In Minneapolis, a Black man, George Floyd, bought some cigarettes at a shop and paid with a US$ 20 note. The shopkeeper accused Mr Floyd of passing a counterfeit note; Mr Floyd refused to return the cigarettes. The shopkeeper called the police. The police handcuffed Mr Floyd, then knelt on his neck; he died of suffocation. This event started a series of �Black Lives Matter� marches and demonstrations that spread across the entire USA and several European countries. A minority of the demonstrators also looted shops and caused property damage. In Bristol a statue of the slave trader and local philanthropist Edward Colston was pulled from its plinth in Bristol UK and thrown in the harbour. There were concerns that demonstrators were not social-distancing and would spread a further wave of Covid-19.

6 May 2020, Wednesday (+27,393) The UK became the first European country over 30,000 cases of Covid-19.

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28 April 2020, Tuesday (+27,389) US cases of Covid-19 passed 1 million, whilst deaths at 58,365 now exceeded the toll from the Vietnam War.

27 April 2020, Monday (+27,383) Global cases of Covid-19 passed 3 million, with deaths at 205,000.

14 April 2020, Tuesday (+27,370) US President Donald Trump accused the WHO of being �China-centric� and froze US funding for the organisation, prompting much criticism.

11 April 2020, Saturday (+27,367) Brazil became the first southern hemisphere country to record over 1,000 deaths from Covid-19, with 19,638 cases and 1,056 cases.

6 April 2020, Monday (+27,362) A tiger, Nadia, at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for Covid-19. This was the first known human to cat transmission.

5 April 2020, Sunday (+27,361) (Medical, Britain) The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was admitted to intensive care with Covid-19.

4 April 2020, Saturday (+27,360) Kier Starmer was elected leader of the British Labour Party, succeeding Jeremy Corbyn (who had lost hugely to the Tories in December 2019, and was accused of anti-Semitic sympathies).

2 April 2020, Thursday (+27,358) Worldwide cases of Covid-19 passed 1 million, reaching 1,002,159 cases and 51,485 deaths.

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26 March 2020, Thursday (+27,351) US cases of Covid-19 now exceeded any other country, with 81,578 cases and 1,180 deaths.

25 March 2020, Wednesday (+27,350) In the UK, Prince Charles tested positive for Covid-19.

24 March 2020, Tuesday (+27,349) (Medical) (1) Cases of Covid-19 reached 407,485, with 18,227 deaths (4.47%). Britain implemented unprecedented lockdown measures to try and curb the growth in Covid19 cases. People were only allowed to leave home to go shopping, travel to essential work, or to exercise. All non-essential retailing had to close, including sports shops and hairdressers. Religious gatherings were halted, and no more than 2 people could gather unless they lived in the same household. The measures would be in place initially for three weeks.

(2) Japan�s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, announced a postponement of the Olympic Games until Summer 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

23 March 2020, Monday (+27,348) (Price) (1) In the UK, the price of a first class stamp rose from 70p to 76p.

(2) South Africa instituted a Covid-19 lockdown.

22 March 2020, Sunday (+27,347) India put 1 billion people under a daytime curfew to try and curb the spread of Covid-19.

21 March 2020, Saturday (+27,346) Cases of Covid-19 reached 303,001, with 12,944 deaths (4.27%).

20 March 2020, Friday (+27,345) (Medical) Cases of Covid-19 reached 250,856, with 10,389 deaths (4.14%). The UK took the unprecedented step of ordering all pubs, restaurants and cafes to close after today, although they could still offer a takeaway service, to curb gatherings of people in close proximity. Nightclubs, theatres, betting shops, museums and art galleries, cinemas and gyms also had to close. Meanwhile France and Italy had much more draconian sanctions, banning all travel apart from essential journeys to buy food or go to work, and walking only allowed within 2 km of home, with no cycling allowed. Beaches in southern France were closed, as were parks. California also had a lockdown, and most air travel ceased, as many national birders closed. The Olympic Games due for July and August 2020 in Japan were likely to be cancelled, but this move met with resistance from both athletes and the Japanese Government.

17 March 2020, Tuesday (+27,342)

11 March 2020, Wednesday (+27,336) Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic by the head of the World Health Organisation, Adhanom Ghebreysus. There had now been 121,564 cases and 4,373 deaths worldwide.

10 March 2020, Tuesday (+27,335) (1) (Medical)� Italy woke up to severe restrictions on all but essential travel across the entire country, as coronavirus cases took off there, especially in the wealthy North. Italy now had 10,040 cases and 630 deaths. Worldwide, Covid-19 cases reached 114,457, with 4,026 deaths (3.52%).

(2) (Russia) The Russian Duma approved a measure that would allow Vladimir Putin to serve a further two 6-year terms when his current term expires in 2024. If he wins the elections, he could then remain President until 2036, by which time he will be 83 years old.

5 March 2020, Thursday (+27,330) (Aviation) Flybe Airlines went bankrupt. The airline industry had been harmed by Brexit and climate change concerns, and the coronavirus outbreak was the last straw. There were worries for the future of many British local airports where Flybe made up a significant proportion of the flights.

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29 February 2020, Saturday (+27,325) In Afghanistan, US President Trump negotiated a deal with the Taliban setting a US withdrawal date of 1 May 2021.

28 February 2020, Friday (+27,324) Coronavirus cases now reached 83,878, with 2,869 deaths (3.42%).

27 February 2020, Thursday (+27,323) In New York the Dow Jones Index fell a massive 1,190.95 points on concerns over Covid-19.

11 February 2020, Tuesday (+27,307)

8 February 2020, Saturday (+27,304) (Ireland) In Irish elections, Sinn Fein did well. The Party, once linked to the IRA, had a Left-wing agenda with promises to spend more on health and housing, and strongly supported reunification of Northern and Southern Ireland.

7 February 2020, Friday (+27,303) (Medical-Covid) In China, Dr Li Weinlang, aged 33, who blew the whistle on Covid-19, died of Covid himself.

4 February 2020, Tuesday (+27,300)

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31 January 2020, Friday (+27,296) (Britain, European Union) The UK formally left the European Union. A period of transition, scheduled to end 31 December 2020, began during which trade relations would be sorted out. Many people suspected this was too little time to complete these negotiations.

25 January 2020, Saturday (+27,290) (Medical) An epidemic of coronavirus, causing a flu-like illness, had now infected 2,010 people. Of these, 1,975 were in China, many around the city of Wuhan where the epidemic began. There were also cases in the USA, France, Australia and several SE Asian countries. 56 people had died, all in China.

23 January 2020, Thursday (+27,288) (Medical) The Chinese city of Wuhan was put on �lockdown�, with all public transport suspended, after the coronavirus, causing a flu-like illness,� appeared there.

8 January 2020, Wednesday (+27,273) (Aviation, Iran) (1) An airliner with 176 people on board crashed with no survivors shortly after taking off from Tehran on a flight to Ukraine. The plane blew up in mid-air, sparking speculation that it had been hit by a missile. The incident, early in the morning whilst still dark, coincided with a limited Iranian missile strike against US bases in Iraq, in a low-key revenge attack for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani on 3 January 2020.

(2) (Britain Royal) Harry and Markle angered and surprised the Palace by a surprise announcement, made without first informing the Queen, that they were to withdraw from Royal duties.

3 January 2020, Friday (+27,268) (Iran, Iraq) Early this morning, a US drone strike on Baghdad Airport killed Qassem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Al Quds air force, along with three other senior Iranian officials.

2 January 2020, Thursday (+27,267) (Climate, Australia) In Australia, ongoing catastrophic fires have burned over 40,000 square kilometres, destroyed 1,500 homes and killed at least 17 people, in a drought and temperatures reaching high into the 40s C.

1 January 2020, Wednesday (+27,266) (Environment) Palau became the first nation to ban the import or sale of sunscreens containing chemicals toxic to coral. Half of sunscreen brands on sale in 2018 contained chemicals poisonous to coral even in trace amounts, and the area is a favoured destination for diving. Hawaii announced a similar ban in 5/2018, to come into effect in 2021.

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27 December 2019, Friday (+27,261)

20 December 2019, Friday (+27,254) (Britain, European Union) Boris Johnson, British PM, won a huge majority of 358 to 234 against for his Bill to complete Brexit on 31 January 2020; larger than his overall Commons majority of 78. From end January, a transition period is due to begin, for 11 months until 31 December 2020; however many believed this was too short and might have to be extended.

19 December 2019, Thursday (+27,253) (Climate) Australia was enduring a extreme heatwave and drought, There were numerous severe forest fires. Average temperatures in Australia soared to a record 41.9C, peak temperatures reaching 47.7 C. Temperatures at Nullarbor weather station later attained 49.9 C.

12 December 2019, Thursday (+27,246) (Britain) General Election in the UK. Boris Johnson, incumbent Conservative Prime Minister, won a major victory, gaining 365 seats, a majority of 78. Boris Johnson now promised to deliver Brexit by 31 January 2020, with the transition period extending no longer than 31 December 2020. There was speculation of a possible trade deal with the USA. Meanwhile Labour did badly, losing many previously safe seats in the Midlands and North of England, which was attributed to disaffection amongst blue collar workers in old-industrial areas; Labour secured 203 seats. However Labour�s vote held up better in London. The Liberal Democrats did badly, holding just 11 seats, losing seats despite a rise in their % vote share; their leader, Joe Swinson, lost her seat to the SNP in Scotland. The SNP did well as the Nationalist vote rose, taking 48 seats. In Northern Ireland the DUP took 8 seats as Sinn Fein gained ground.

7 December 2019, Saturday (+27,241) Polls closed in a non-binding independence referendum on Bougainville Island on whether the island should be independent from Papua New Guinea. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of independence, with 97% in favour, or 176,928 votes, against just 3,043 for remaining. Bougainville has huge copper reserves, and accounts for more than 40% of Papua new Guinea�s GDP; it was this mineral wealth that funded Papua New Guinea�s independence form Australia in 1975.

6 December 2019, Friday (+27,240) (Medical) A surge in measles cases worldwide was reported, with 10 million cases and 142,000 deaths occurring in 2018. Survivors often die soon after because their immune system has been compromised. Anti-vacination sympathies have been blamed for the increase, with cases in 2019 trending towards three times that for 2018.

1 December 2019, Sunday (+27,235) (1) (Italy) In 1926 Mussolini merged the constituency of Venice with the mainland towns of Mestre and Marghera. At the time, Venice was still the largest settlement, but in the 50 years to 2019 the population of Venice fell from 150,000 to 50,000, whereas the two mainland towns grew to 180,000 over the same period. This political balance means most money spent in the region now goes to projects in Mestre. Meanwhile the project to protect Venice from flooding has been put back successively, from 1995 to, currently, 2021. On 1st December 2019 Venice holds a referendum on administratively splitting off from the mainland.

(2) (Space exploration) The radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was wrecked when cables supporting the receiver above its dish snapped.

(3) Earliest known Covid patient, a 55-year-old man in Wuhan, China.

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29 November 2019, Friday (+27,233) (London) A terrorist stabbed 5 people, 2 fatally, at London Bridge. He was shot dead by police.

26 November 2019, Tuesday (+27,230) (Earthquake) A magnitude 6.4 quake hit Albania, killing at least 21 and injuring 600. There has been an earlier magnitude 5.6 quake in Albania in September.

24 November 2019, Sunday (+27,228) (China) Elections were held in Hong Kong, after weeks of often-violent protests against the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, and her changes to the extradition laws. Opposition candidates won 17 of the 18 councils, having controlled none previously.

15 November 2019, Friday (+27,219) (Climate) (1) Very hot dry and windy weather in Australia exacerbated bush fires that, to date, have killed 3 people, injured 100, and destroyed 150 homes. Australia was experiencing its hottest summer on record, after an abnormally hot and dry winter.

(2) The north and Midlands of England experienced severe flooding, with areas around Doncaster and tge Severn Valley hard hit.

12 November 2019, Tuesday (+27,216) (Italy) Venice suffered its worst flooding since 1966 as an acqua alta reached 1.54 metres, amidst heavy rain.

1 November 2019, Friday (+27,205) (Environment) Fracking was banned in England after a series of earthquakes of up to magnitude 2.5 in the Blackpool area were attributed to it. Fracking was already banned in the rest of the UK.

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26 October 2019, Saturday (+27,199) (Australia) Tourists were no longer permitted to climb Uluru (Ayers Rock), a site sacred to the indigenous Australian Anangu nation.

26 September 2019, Thursday (+27,169) (France) Jacques Chirac died aged 86. He had twice been President of France.

24 October 2019, Tuesday (+27,167) (Spain) Settling a long-standing controversy, the remains of General Franco were exhumed from the mausoleum of the Valley of the Fallen and reinterred in the family crypt at the Mingorrubio-El Pardo cemetery near Madrid.

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24 September 2019, Tuesday (+27,167) (Britain, European Union) (1) Britain�s Supreme Court ruled that PM Boris Johnson had acted unlawfully when he prorogued (suspended) Parliament, ostensibly because of upcoming Party Conferences, but in reality to avert further debate on Brexit/ Parliament returned to sitting the next day.

(2) Spain�s Supreme Court ruled that Franco�s remains could be exhumed from the Valley of the Fallen to a municipal cemetery.

23 September 2019, Friday (+27,166) (Price) British travel agent Thomas Cook went into liquidation;150,000 holidaymakers needed repatriation. The company had taken on too much debt and expanded into areas such as Turkey and Tunisia that were then hit by terrorism fears. It also had to bear physical shop costs whereas many of its competitors were online-only, and Brexit and good weather in the UK reduced demand for foreign holidays.

14 September 2019, Saturday (+27,157) (Saudi Arabia) A drone attack on a major oil refinery at Abqaiq took out 50% of the Kingdom�s oil refining capacity, sending world oil prices up 20% although they later fell back. The US believed the drone came directly from Iran, rather than from the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

6 September 2019, Friday (+27,149) (Zimbabwe) Robert Gabriel Mugabe, former President of Zimbabwe (born 21 February 1924) died aged 95. He became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980 and President from 1987. However his authoritarian rule alienated many people, especially during the last decade of his rule.

3 September 2019, Tuesday (+27,146) (Britain, European Union) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost significant Parliamentary votes. MPs voted to force him to ask Brussels for an extension on the Brexit process from 31 October 2019, and not to hold a General election before this date. 21 Tory MPs rebelled and were expelled from the Conservative Party by Mr Johnson, who now led a Government with a minority of 47. Mr Johnson said if he were compelled by law to ask for an extension (something he earlier said he would never do), he would also threaten to be so disruptive to the EU that in fact they would not grant one. Calling an early General Election in October would, under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, have required two thirds of MPs to vote for, which Boris Johnson did not get; it would also have ensured that Parliament was not operating in full at the end of October so even if Labour won they could not have voted to extend the Brexit deadline or avert No Deal. However it was possible that the EU, despairing of the never-ending Brexit process, would decline to offer an extension anyway, with President Macron of France taking this position.

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28 August 2019, Wednesday (+27,140) (Britain, European Union) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson took the highly controversial move of announcing that the UK Parliament would be prorogued from 10 September for a crucial 5-week period until 14 October just before the planned Brexit of 31 October 2019. Opponents of Brexit claimed that this was a move to suppress any debate in parliament of the Brexit process, and prevent the passing of a Bill to block a Brexit without a deal being made with the European Union.

27 August 2019, Tuesday (+27,139) (Football) Bury Football Club, facing severe financial difficulties, was ejected from the English football league. Its problems, akin to those of nearby Bolton Wanderers (which was rescued at the last minute) were typical of smaller lower league clubs, in a sport where the vast majority of TV broadcasting, sponsorship and advertising revenues were hoovered up by the top league clubs.

24 August 2019, Saturday (+27,136) (Environment) Concern grew worldwide after widespread large fires burnt large areas of the Amazon rainforest. There were also blazes in Siberia and Alaska, as unusually warm air reached there, and in the African and east Asian rainforests. President Bolsonaro of Brazil was accused by President Macron of France, hosting the G7 meeting at this time, of encouraging farmers to burn large areas for agriculture. There were protests outside several Brazilian embassies.

12 August 2019, Monday (+27,124) (China) After several weeks of low-key protests in Hong Kong, against a new law permitting extradition to mainland China (despite the �One Country Two Systems arrangement instituted in 1997 for 50 years) the unrest� escalated after a woman was shot in the eye by a police beanbag round during demonstrations at Hong Kong Airport.

2 August 2019, Friday (+27,114) Saudi women were allowed to travel abroad without their husband�s permission.

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26 July 2019, Friday (+27,107) (Weather) The Swedish village of Markusvinsa recorded a temperature of 34.8 C, the highest ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden.

25 July 2019, Thursday (+27,106) (Weather) The temperature at Paris-Montsouris station surpassed the previous high of 40.4C, set in July 1947, soon after 1pm and continued to climb, reaching 42.6C soon after 4pm. Bordeaux set a new record of 42.1 C. In Britain the highest recorded temperature was 38.7 C in Cambridge, exceeding the previous� record of38.5 C set at Faversham, Kent on 2003. However 38.1 C was a record for the UK for July, the previous record being 36.7 at Heathrow in July 2015. The Netherlands set a new all-time temperature record of 39.4 at Gilzen-Rije airbase. Belgium set a new national record of 40.6 C, the highest since records began in 1833. Germany set a new record of 41.5 C at Lingen, the day after a record temperature of 40.5 C in Geilenkirchen. Portugal and Greece saw major forest fires, and nuclear plants in France had to be shut down because the rivers were too warm for the emissions of cooling water.

23 July 2019, Tuesday (+27,104) (Britain) Boris Johnson was elected new leader of the UK Conservative Party and Prime Minister, with 66.3% of votes cast. He stood against Jeremy Hunt.

19 July 2019, Friday (+27,100) (Iran) Iran seized a British-owned tanker in the Persian Gulf. A second vessel was also arrested, but the captain was �warned� and then allowed on his way. This followed the seizure of an Iranian tanker at Gibraltar, allegedly taking oil to Syria in defiance of EU sanctions. Iran alleged that the British tanker had entered the Gulf the wrong way, collided with a fishing boat, and then ignored its distress signal.

5 July 2019, Friday (+27,086) (Earthquake) A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit California, the day after a magnitude 6.4 tremor in the same area.

1 July 2019, Monday (+27,082) (Environment) Japan recommenced commercial whaling, having withdrawn from the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

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28 June 2019, Friday (+27,079) (Climate) Europe was hit by a severe heatwave. In France, a record temperature of 45.9 C was recorded at Gallargues de Montueux, near Montpellier, breaking the previous record of 44.1 C set in 2003. Countries from Italy to Poland were affected, with major forest fires in Spain.

16 June 2019, Sunday (+27,067) (China) Large protests in Hong Kong over a proposed new rule allowing extradition to mainland China. These protests continued on into July, although the new law was �suspended�.

15 June 2020, Saturday (+27,066) (India, China) Tensions along the ill-defined and disputed Himalayan border between India and China escalated. India accused China of annexing the Galwan Valley, some 60 square miles. China accused India of building military roads into disputed areas and of attempting to control more of Kashmir, including an area ceded by Pakistan to China that India claims. Some 20 soldiers died, mainly through falling into icy gorges.

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24 May 2019, Friday (+27,044) (Britain, European Union) Mrs Theresa May, UK Prime Minister, announced her resignation, having failed to secure a Brexit deal that could get through the UK Parliament.

17 May 2019, Friday (+27,037) (Homosexuality) Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. At this time Israel recognised gay marriages conducted elsewhere but they could not be performed in Israel. Homosexuality could be punished by death in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The taboos against homosexuality were slowly vanishing in Vietnam and Nepal. In Africa,� South Africa was the only African country where same sex marriage was legal. In Sudan, Somalia and Mauretania, gay people faced the death penalty. A small number of African countries, including Congo (DR), Cote d�Ivoire, Gabon, Mali and Mozambique, did not have laws against homosexuality.

15 May 2019, Wednesday (+27,035) (Medical) The number of Ebola cases in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo now exceeded 1,600 since the current outbreak began in August 2018. In April 2018 the rate of new cases suddenly accelerated from around 30 to around 100 per week,

14 May 2019, Tuesday (+27,034) (Morals) The US State of Alabama passed very restrictive abortion laws,

5 May 2019, Sunday (+27,025) (Aviation) 41 people died when a plane made an emergency landing at Moscow Airport, and the back of the plane scraped the runway, causing the fuel tanks to catch fire.

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21 April 2019, Sunday, (+27,011) (Sri Lanka) Co-ordinated bomb attacks on churches and hotels on Easter Sunday killed around 250 people and injured several hundred more. After a few days ISIS claimed responsibility for the suicide bomber attacks, stating they were in revenge for the attack on a mosque in New Zealand on 15 March 2019.

20 April 2019, Saturday (+27,010) (France) Yellow Vest protests in Paris for the 23^rd consecutive Saturday.

17 April 2019, Wednesday (+27,007) (Peru) Former President of Peru, Alan Garcia, 69, shot himself dead as police arrived to arrest him on corruption charges, connected with the construction of the Lime metro system. The Brazilian construction company Odebrecht had admitted paying government officials across 12 countries a total of almost US$800 million to obtain contracts. Garcia had been President 1985-90 and 2006-11.

15 April 2019, Monday (+27,005) (France) Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris was very severely damaged by fire. The fire was believed to have been caused by renovation works, which, having suffered delays due to lack of funding, had been going on for years; the blaze started shortly after 6pm local time.

11 April 2019, Thursday (+27,001) (London) Julian Assange, 47, was seized by UK police from the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had been residing for nearly seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden on a rape charge, which could lead to onward extradition to the USA on more serious espionage charges.

9 April 2019, Tuesday (+26,999) (Israel) Benjamin Netanyahu won a record fifth term as President. He intended to take a hard line on the question of Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

1 April 2019, Monday (+26,991) (Algeria) Algerian President Bouteflika, who had been in poor health, and faced by protests against his rule, announced that he would step down before his term ended on 28 April 2019.

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23 March 2019, Saturday (+26,982) (France) Yellow Vest protestors caused disturbances in the Champs-Elys�es area of central Paris for the 19^th consecutive Saturday. The previous Saturday, 16 March 2019, the level of destruction had ratcheted up with banks, cafes and shops being set fire to. President Macron put military soldiers on the streets on the 23 March 2019, raising fears that a protestor would be shot dead.

22 March 2019, Friday (+26,981) Robert Mueller completed his report on Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election.

21 March 2019, Thursday (+26,980) (Britain, European Union) After lengthy talks between Mrs May, UK Prime Minister, and the EU, the EU set new dates for Brexit. If Mrs May managed to get her deal with the EU accepted at a third vote in Parliament, Brexit would take place on 22 May 2019. This would give the UK Parliament time to pass the necessary legislation. However it was possible that the Speaker, Mr Bercow, would debar a 3^rd vote unless the proposal was �significantly different from the proposal that was heavily defeated two times already; possibly the new schedule would constitute a �difference�. If, however, Mrs May could not get her Deal passed, the UK was to have until 12 April to �say what it wanted� � which could be anything from No Deal to postponing or even cancelling Brexit, revoking Article 50.

15 March 2019, Friday (+26,974) (1) (Weather) Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe, killing at least 705 people, with hundreds more missing.

(2) (New Zealand) A White-supremacist gunman shot dead 50 Muslim worshipers at Friday prayers at a mosque in |Christchurch New Zealand, with several others wounded, some seriously.

10 March 2019, Sunday (+26,969) (Aviation) A Boeing 737 Max airliner crashed shortly after take-off in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board. This was the second such plane to crash within a few months after a similar plane plunged into the sea 12 minutes after taking off from Indonesia. The rest of these planes were grounded worldwide.

7 March 2019, Thursday (+26,966) (Venezuela) An extended power outage lasting for several days hit Venezuela.

4 March 2019, Monday (+26,963) (Venezuela) Juan Guaido returned to Venezuela. He was not arrested by Maduro.

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26 February 2019, Saturday (+26,926) (USA) The longest US Government shutdown in history, 35 days, ended as President Trump backed down before opposition in (Democrat-controlled) Congress in a dispute over funding� for a �wall� (or, steel barrier) to keep out migrants on the Mexican border. However Trump later declared an �emergency� so as to try and secure funding for the barrier by alternative means, by using emergency powers to take funding from other areas of government.

21 February 2019, Thursday (+26,952) An Israeli company launched the Beresheet probe towards the Moon

19 February 2019, Tuesday (+26,950) (Jewish) 80 Jewish graves in eastern France were desecrated, in a rising tide of anti-Semitism that had seen a rise of 74% in such attacks in 2018 over 2017.

16 February 2019, Saturday (+26,947) (Algeria) Protests against President Bouteflika began in small Algerian towns. By 22 March 2019 these protests had spread to the capital, Algiers.

14 February 2019, Thursday (+26,945) (India) Pakistani terrorists suicide-bombed Indian security forces in Kashmir, killing 45. Tensions briefly rose between the two countries, with Indian jets striking Pakistan and one being shot down. The pilot was later returned to India as tensions eased.

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28 January 2019, Monday (+26,928) (Venezuela) The US Government announced sanctions on Venezuela�s State-owned oil company, PDVSA. This move was intended to restrict the oil revenues of President Nicolas Maduro, and strengthen the opposition led by Juan Guaido. The ultimate aim was to force an election in Venezuela. Under the sanctions, companies can continue to trade but payments are held in an account that is blocked to Maduro.

24 January 2019, Thursday (+26,924) (Climate) During a record-breaking heatwave and drought in Australia, the temperature in Adelaide hit 46.6 C, the highest since records began 80 years ago.

23 January 2019, Wednesday (+26,923) (Venezuela) 23 January 2019, Venezuela teetered in the brink of civil war as crowds demonstrated in favour of Juan Guido, who they held had won the recent elections. However the incumbent President, Nicolas Maduro, refused to relinquish power. The US, along with the UK, France, Germany and rightist countries in South America, including Brazil, demanded that Maduro call new elections within 8 days, or else they would recognise Guido, not Maduro, as President.

Venezuela, despite being oil-rich, has suffered economic catastrophe and deep poverty since Hugo Chavez became leader in 1998. Chavez took on a country that, although overall middle-income, was plagued by severe inequality. Chavez drove through a �Bolivarian Revolution�, using oil money to bypass Parliament and enforce, from 1999, a new Constitution. However Chavez died of cancer in 2013 and was succeeded by his Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro. Meanwhile by 2010 Venezuelan reforms had begun to stall as the world oil price fell, and the lack of democratic accountability fostered inefficiency and corruption. Furthermore, Maduro lacked the charisma of Chavez; he compensated for this by stifling dissent and packing government functions, including the judiciary, with his own supporters. Maduro also cancelled reforms he disliked, such as the freeing of political prisoners.

In May 2018, in an attempt to consolidate his power, Maduro called Presidential elections; these were dismissed by the US, the UN, the EU and the Organisation of American States as being rigged. Most Venezuelans are believed to back Guido; however the Army is still behind Maduro (although there have been a few minor military mutinies). Military leaders still (2019) control key sectors including mining, oil, and food distribution. Russia supports Maduro, in a� country just three hours flying time from Miami, but there may be a US clandestine presence also in Venezuela.

20 January 2019, Sunday (+26,920)

16 January 2019, Wednesday (+26,916) (Britain) The Motion of No Confidence in the UK Government was defeated by 325 votes to 306.

15 January 2019, Tuesday (+26,915) (Britain) The UK House of Commons voted decisively to reject Conservative PM Theresa May�s EU Withdrawal Deal, by 423 votes to 202. The Deal was disliked by those MPs who wanted a harder Brexit and feared that it tied the UK in too closely to Europe; it was also rejected by those who wanted to delay or eve cancel Brexit. Immediately after this vote the Labour Opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, put down a Motion of No Confidence in the Government.

11 January 2019, Friday (+26.911) (Islam, USA) The USA began to pull its forces out of Syria. Russia, ally of Syrian President Assad, welcomed the news, as Assad appeared to have won the Syrian Civil War. There were concerns that the US move could allow ISIS to regroup, or expose the Kurds to attacks from Turkey.

1 January 2019, Tuesday (+26,901) (USA) In the USA, President Trump�s measure to raise tariffs on US$ 250 billion of Chinese imports from 10% to 25% came into effect.

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19 December 2018, Wednesday (+26,888) (Aviation) Gatwick Airport was closed this evening following sightings of a drone over the runway. The airport remained closed for 36 hours running the travel plans of some 350,000 people.

12 December 2018, Wednesday (+26,881) (Britain) Following Theresa May�s failed last minute attempt at renegotiation with the European Union on 11 December 2018, a leadership challenge emerged today, with over 48 Conservative MPs voting for a leadership election within the Party. She won the vote by 200 votes to 117, meaning no further leadership challenge was possible for at least 12 months.

11 December 2018, Tuesday (+26,880) (Britain, European Union) UK Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a Parliamentary vote on her Brexit Deal, which many had derided as giving up too much to Europe, and quickly met European leaders to try and renegotiate terms. She failed.

10 December 2018, Monday (+26,879) (European Union) The European Court of Justice ruled that a country could unilaterally reverse its exit from the EU by cancelling its use of Article 50; so long as this had been done democratically within the country, by a Parliamentary vote or a second referendum.

9 December 2018, Sunday (+26,878)

8 December 2018, Saturday (+26,877) (France) Another weekend of rioting in Paris saw 1700 arrested and 71 injured. Riots also occurred in Brussels and Amsterdam.

7 December 2018, Friday (+26,876) China launched its Chang�e 4 probe towards the Moon; landed there 3 January 2019.

5 December 2018, Wednesday (+26,874) A letter by Albert Einstein written in 1954 on the concept of religion sold at Christies, new York, for US$ 2.9 million.

1 December 2018, Saturday (+26,870) (France) Rioting by the �yellow vests� in France escalated, with major unrest around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and in several other cities, also The Netherlands and Belgium were affected. 412 were arrested and 133 seriously injured, including 23 policemen, as several cars and other property was torched. The protestors took their name from the yellow high-visibility jacket that motorists in France must carry; the unrest was focussed on high fuel taxes. Protestors called for President Macron to resign.

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30 November 2018, Friday (+26,869) (USA) George HW Bush, 41^st President of the USA, died aged 94.

28 November 2018, Wednesday (+26,867)

25 November 2018, Sunday (+26,864) (Russia) Russia temporarily blocked the Kerch Strait, linking the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. This interrupted access to two major Ukrainian ports. Russia had previously annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and built a bridge over the Kerch Strait linking eastern Crimea to Russia. The blockaded was lifted later that day but not before Russia had seized two Ukrainian boats and 23 sailors, with six of them injured..

24 November 2018, Saturday (+26,863) (France) A week of rioting across France (began 17 November 2018) with 300,000 people protesting at high petrol taxes. By this date, one protestor had died and over 400 had been injured.

8 November 2018, Thursday (+26,847) (USA) Severe wildfires began in California, their unusual intensity blamed on global warming. They continued for two weeks until rainfall helped extinguish them, by which time the town of Paradise had been destroyed. An estimated 82 people were known to have died but a further 699 remained missing.

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29 October 2018, Monday (+26,837) (Germany) Mrs Angela Merkel announced that she would not stand in 2021 for re-election as Chancellor of Germany, a post she had held since 2005. This followed disappointing election results for her Party, the CDU (Christian Democratic Union), and her coalition partners, the Social Democrats, in elections in Hesse.

28 October 2018, Sunday (+26,836) (Brazil) Jair Bolsano was elected as 38^th President of Brazil, with 55.1% of the vote. He was a populist with nationalist policies.

27 October 2018, Saturday (+26,835) (Judaism) Robert Bowers, a white-supremacist, entered a synagogue in Pittsburgh, USA, and shot dead 11 worshippers.

17 October 2018, Wednesday (+26,825) (Canada, Morals) Canada became the second country (after Uruguay in 2013) to legalise the sale of cannabis.

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28 September 2018, Friday (+26,806) (Earthquake) An earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, Indonesia, killed over 1,640 people.

20 September 2018, Thursday (+26,798) (Tesco) Tesco opened the first of a new discount chain of stores, called Jacks, after Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco. The store was located in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, close to an Aldi. This was in competition with the discount chains Aldi and Lidl.

13 September 2018, Thursday (+26,791) The Spanish Parliament voted to exhume Franco�s remains from the Valley of te Fallen.

9 September 2018, Sunday (+26,787) Swedish elections produced a deadlock. Of 349 seats (majority = 175), the Left coalition received 144 seats, down 15 (40.6% of vote). The Centre Right coalition received 143 seats, no change (40.0% of vote). The third largest party was the anti-immigrant Populist Right party, Swedish Democrats, with 63 seats, up 14 (17.6% of vote). However none of the other parties were prepared to form a coalition with the Swedish Democrats. The full results were; Left = Social Democrats, 101 seats, -12 (28.4% of vote), Green Party 15 seats, -10 (4.3% of vote), and Left Party, 28 seats, +7 (7.9% of vote). Right � Moderates, 70 seats, -14 (19.8% of vote), Centre Party, 31 seats, +9 (8.6% of vote), Liberal Party, 19 seats, n/c (5.5% of vote), and Christian Democrats, 23 seats, +7 (6.4% of vote). Had the Green Party failed to make 4% they would have received no seats under Swedish election law.

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21 August 2018, Tuesday (+26,768) (1) Venezuela, in the grip of hyperinflation, introduced a new �Sovereign Bolivar� at a rate of 1 to 100,000 old Bolivars. Venezuelans were limited to withdrawing just 10 Sovereign Bolivars a day, worth about 12p. A cup of coffee cost 25 Sovereign Bolivars at this time. The Venezuelan Minimum Wage, which stood at 3 million Bolivars (30 Sovereign Bolivars), was on 24 August 2018 raised 60x to 1,800 Sovereign Bolivars, equivalent to 30 US$.

(2) A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit northern Venezuela.

14 August 2018, Tuesday (+26,761) (1) A 200 metre stretch of motorway bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy, plunging45 metres onto a riverbed and factories, killing 43 people. There were suggestions that the bridge, built in 1967, had been poorly maintained, or badly constructed under Mafia influence.

(2) The US State of Nebraska performed its first execution for 20 years, as Carey Dean Moore, a 60 year old who had been incarcerated for 38 years, was given a lethal injection for murdering two taxi drivers. US support for the death penalty stood at 54% in 2018, up from 49% in 2016.

13 August 2018, Monday (+26,760) Over 100 cars were burnt in co-ordinated attacks across several Swedish cities. The disorder was widely blamed on migrant gangs.

10 August 2018, Friday (+26,757) US President Trump announced a doubling of tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium. The US was in dispute over the detention of a US pastor on dubious charges of terrorism. There were concerns over Turkish President Erdogan�s increasingly authoritarian rule. Erdogan refused to raise interest rates, and the Turkish lira plummeted in value.

6 August 2018, Monday (+26,753) US President Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on Iran, and cancelling the nuclear deal that had been signed in 2015.

5 August 2018, Sunday (+26,752) A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit Lombok Island, Philippines. 321 people were killed, 1,033 seriously injured and 270,000 left homeless. Earlier, on 29 July 2018, a magnitude 6.4 quake had also hit Lombok.

4 August 2018, Saturday (+26,751) Excess UK deaths from the heatwave between 25 June 2018 and 9 July 2018 were reported to be 663. In Spain two heat-related deaths were reported as temperatures there reached 45 C.

1 August 2018, Wednesday (+26,748) Arctic summer ice coverage dropped to a low of 4.6 million square kilometres, against a summer minimum of 7.9 million square kilometres in 1980.

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27 July 2018, Friday (+26,743) A heatwave in Japan saw temperatures rise to over 40 C, with 65 deaths, and 22,600 hospitalised. Meanwhile in Greece 81 died in the worst wildfires in Europe since World War Two. Latvia, Norway, Sweden and the UK also suffered heatwaves and drought. Severe wildfires also affected many States across the USA.

26 July 2018, Thursday (+26,742) Observations of a Black Hole by the Very Large telescope in Chile confirmed Einstein�s predictions of a gravitational redshift of light.

21 July 2018, Saturday (+26,737) France reduced the national speed limit on single carriageway rural roads from 90kph to 80kph.

8 July 2018, Sunday (+26,724) Lonnie Jewel Shelton, US basketball player, died (born 19 October 1955).

5 July 2018, Thursday (+26,721) A record high temperature of 51.3 C was recorded in the Sahara Desert, Algeria.

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12 June 2018, Tuesday (+26,698) A historic summit meeting took place in Singapore between President Kim Jong Un of North Korea and President Trump of the USA.

3 June 2018, Sunday (+26,689) The Fuego volcano in Guatemala began erupting. After two days, mudslides had killed 25 and injured 250.

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27 May 2018, Sunday (+26,682)� Italy�s Populist Government nominated Paolo Savona as Finance Minister; an economist who supported Italy quitting the Eurozone. President Sergio Mattarella vetoed that appointment.

25 May 2018, Friday (+26,680) (Ireland, Morals) Ireland voted to legalise abortion by a large majority of 66.4%. This left Northern Ireland as rather an anomaly, with its strict anti-abortion laws, whilst abortion was now legal in both Ireland and Great Britain. However the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, who support Mrs May, British PM, needs to remain in power, was like all other NI Parties, anti-abortion.

8 May 2018, Tuesday (+26,663) (Iran, USA) President Trump of the US unilaterally pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, arranged by his predecessor President Obama, under which Iran received financial aid in return for curbing its nuclear missiles programme.

3 May 2018, Thursday (+26,658) Hawaii�s Kilauea volcano began an intensive eruption, which continued throughout May.

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28 April 2018, Saturday (+26,653) The second and third largest UK supermarkets, Asda and Sainsbury, announced a merger. Wal-Mart, who had owned Asda, was disposing of it. If cleared by the �Office of Fair Trading and Competition Commission, this would create a supermarket with a larger share than Tesco, see supermarket share.

27 April 2018, Friday (+26,652) Kim Jong Un became the first leader of North Korea to cross into South Korea for a historic meeting with the South Korean leader, Moon Jae In.

7 April 2018, Saturday (+26,632) A poison gas attack (chlorine or sarin) on Syrian civilians in the rebel-held area of Douma was reported. Russia, who was backing Syrian President Assad, along with Iran, alleged that the attack was a fabrication. The US and Israel replied with airstrikes on Syrian air force facilities.

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25 March 2018, Sunday (+26,619) The first non-stop commercial flight from Australia to London took place, taking 17 hours (see 1935, 1938, 1947).

18 March 2018, Sunday (+26,612) Vladimir Putin easily won a fourth six-year term as President of Russia. However the elections were rather less than free and fair; no candidate with a real chance of success was allowed to stand against him, and there were several instances of ballot box stuffing.

14 March 2018, Wednesday (+26,608) The world famous astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking, died of motor neurone disease, aged 76 (born 8 January 1942). He was famous for his work on Black Holes, and his book A Brief History of Time.

4 March 2018, Sunday (+26,598) (1) Elections in Italy, a country still in recession, with high unemployment and with anti-immigrant feeling running high in some areas, produced gains for the two Populist-Right Parties, The League in the north and Five Star in the south.

(2) (Britain, Russia) Soviet double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the UK city of Salisbury by a nerve gas agent, likely Novichok, which is Russian in origin.

3 March 2018, Saturday (+26,597) Roger Bannister, first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes, died (born 23 March 1929)

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17 February 2018, Saturday (+26,583) A magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurred near Swansea. It was felt across England from the Isle of Wight to the Lake District.

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27 January 2018, Saturday (+26,562) Ingvar Kamprad, founder of the IKEA chain, died aged 91.

15 January 2018, Monday (+26,550) The British public sector contracting company Carillion went into liquidation, threatening the jobs of its 43,000 employees and the viability of 30,000 subcontractors, in areas as diverse as school meals, infrastructure construction, and army bases.

1 January 2018, Monday (+26,536) The US State of California legalised the sale and consumption of cannabis for personal use. The substance was already legal in five other US States; Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

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31 December 2017, Sunday (+26,535) Cholera cases in Yemen, since April 2017, now stood at 994,751, with 2,226 cholera deaths, out of a total population of 28 million. Worst hit was the Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah, with nearly 150,000 cholera cases in a population of 400,000.

28 December 2017, Thursday (+26,532) Several days of protest began in Tehran in anti-government protests, angered by a poorly-performing economy.

21 December 2017, Thursday (+26,525) In a referendum sanctioned by Madrid, the two pro-independence parties of Catalonia won a small total majority in the 135-seat Catalan Parliament; however the biggest single party was for union with Spain.

18 December 2017, Monday (+26,522) Mr Cyril Ramaphosa defeated Ms Dlamini-Zuma in elections for the Presidency of the ANC, South Africa.

7 December 2017, Thursday (+26,511) (Australia, Homosexuality) The Australian Parliament legalised same-sex marriage, a month after a referendum showed strong support for the move.

6 December 2017, Wednesday (+26,510) President Donald Trump of the USA officially recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and announced that he would move the US Embassy there, from Tel Aviv. There were protests from Palestinians.

4 December 2017, Monday (+26,508) The UK driving test was amended to include the use of Satnavs.

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28 November 2017, Tuesday (+26,502) North Korea test fired a missile which flew 1,000 km towards the Sea of Japan. This missile attained a height in excess of 100 km then re-entered the atmosphere, proving that North Korea has missiles with a re-entry capability.

24 November 2017, Friday (+26,498) Extremist Muslims bombed a Sufi mosque in al-Rawdah, Egypt, then shot dead many of those fleeing the scene. 305 worshippers lost their lives.

21 November 2017, Tuesday (+26,495) Mugabe bowed to the inevitable and officially resigned as President of Zimbabwe. He was succeeded by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

15 November 2017, Wednesday (+26,489) An army coup in Zimbabwe deposed 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe.

12 November 2017, Sunday (+26,486) A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just after midnight close to Halabja near the Iran-Iraq border. At least 530 people were killed and 8,000 injured.

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31 October 2017, Tuesday (+26,474)

27 October 2017, Friday (+26,470) Catalonia formally declared independence from Spain, just as Spain invoked Article 155 of its Constitution, never before used, to enable it to take direct control of Catalonia and suspend its regional government.

24 October 2017, Tuesday (+26,467) Albert Einstein�s �Theory of Happiness� a 17-word note written to a bellboy in Tokyo in 1922 in lieu of a tip, sold for US$ 1.56 million.

22 October 2017, Sunday (+26,465) Voters in two of Italy�s wealthiest northern regions, Veneto and Lombardy. Voted overwhelmingly for greater autonomy. On a turnout of 58% in Veneto and just over 50% in Lombardy, over 95% of votes were for more autonomy.

21 October 2017, Saturday (+26,464) Elections in the Czech Republic produced gains for the Populist Right.

19 October 2017, Thursday (+26,462) (Space exploration) Rob Weryk of the University of Hawaii first spotted an asteroid-like object that, from its speed and trajectory, appeared to have originated from outside the Solar System.

15 October 2017, Sunday (+26,458) Elections in Austria produced gains for the far-right party, over issues of immigration.

2 October 2017, Monday (+26,445) Early in the morning, a gunman opened fire in Las Vegas. Shooting from the Mandalay Bay Hotel, he killed 58 and injured over 500. He shot himself dead as policed closed in. The gunman was initially alleged to be ISIS related but in fact there was no link to any terrorist organisation. The motive remains unknown.

1 October 2017, Sunday (+26,444) Catalonia held a referendum, which was strongly opposed by the Spanish Government, on independence. Madrid took down web-based polling sites, and 4,000 police occupied and closed down over half the polling stations. Pro-independence Catalans occupied, from Friday night, the schools which were to be used as polling stations. There were riots in Barcelona, with over 800 injured as police fired rubber bullets, which are illegal in Catalonia but not in the rest of Spain. In the event 2.26 million managed to vote, out of an electorate of just over 5 million. Of this turnout of 43.6%, 90% voted Yes to independence. Catalonia reasserted on 2 October 2017 that it would declare independence: Spain said it would invoke Article 155 of its Constitution to suspend and take over the regional government of Catalonia.

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29 September 2017, Friday (+26,442)

27 September 2017, Wednesday (+26,440) The World Health Organisation declared that measles had been �eliminated� from the UK, Spain and Denmark for the first time ever; these countries had been free of the disease for 36 months. 33 of the 53 countries in Europe were now measles-free. However doctors in the UK were still treating 1,000 cases from overseas. Over 95% of British children had been vaccinated with the MMR jab, despite publicity against it.� In 1961 there were 764,000 measles cases in Britain, resulting in 152 deaths.

26 September 2017, Tuesday (+26,439) Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on women driving. From 24 June 2018 women would be allowed to drive there.

25 September 2017, Monday (+26,438) Iraqi Kurdish independence vote. This vote was opposed by countries neighbouring Iraq because it might promote secession in their Kurdish regions. The result was 93% in favour of independence from Iraq, on a turnout of 72%. Some anti-independence voters boycotted the poll. Turkey threatened sanctions, including a boycott of Kurdish oil exports.

24 September 2017, Sunday (+26,437) German elections. Angela Markel�s CDU (Christian Democratic Union) Party still had the largest number of seats, but lost votes as her share fell to 33%, from 41.5% in 2013, the lowest since 1949. Meanwhile the Far Right AfD (Alternative for Germany) Party gained, securing 12.6% of the vote, especially in the rural east, on the back of concerns about immigration levels. In Saxony, the AfD got a vote of 27%.

20 September 2017, Wednesday (+26,433) Police in Catalonia arrested 14 Catalan government officials suspected of organising the referendum, and seized 10 million ballot papers. 40,000 people protested in Barcelona against the police actions.

19 September 2017, Tuesday (+26,432) A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit central Mexico, killing 248.

17 September 2017, Sunday (+26,430)

15 September 2017, Friday (+26,428) (1) A terrorist bomb exploded on a tube carriage at Parsons Green, SW London. 29 people were injured. The bomb only partially exploded.

(2) The Cassini spacecraft, which had been orbiting Saturn since 2004, dived into Saturn�s atmosphere to be destroyed. The spacecraft had almost run out of fuel, making it uncontrollable. This was to ensure the spacecraft did not crash into Enceladus, where a subsurface ocean of liquid water is believed to exist, and possibly contaminate it with terrestrial bacteria.

14 September 2017, Thursday (+26,427) North Korea fired another missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido, into the Pacific Ocean. The missile rose to an altitude of 770 km, and travelled 3,700 km, which would have taken it to Guam had it travelled southwards not east.

8 September 2017, Friday (+26,421)

7 September 2017, Thursday (+26,420) (1) The most powerful earthquake for more than a century struck Tapachula, southern Mexico. The magnitude 8.2 quake killed at least 96 people.

(2) Four Israeli jets fired missiles at a Syrian facility believed to be a site of chemicals weapons production, killing two Syrians.

6 September 2017, Wednesday (+26,419) The Catalan Parliament approved the independence referendum legislation after a heated 11-hour session in which 52 opposition MPs walked out. The legislation was declared illegal by Madrid the following day, but Catalonia vowed to go ahead with the poll.

5 September 2017, Tuesday (+26,418)

4 September 2017, Monday (+26,417) Queen Elizabeth II opened the third Forth Bridge, exactly 53 years after the second (road) bridge was opened by her. The cost of the new bridge was �1.35bn, as against �11.5m (�210m in 2017 prices) for the 2nd brodge. The original road bridge will now be for cyclists and buses only.

3 September 2017, Sunday (+26,416) North Korea detonated a test Hydrogen Bomb underground in its north-east. The test produced a magnitude 6.3 earthquake. The missile was reported to be capable of being fitted on an ICBM and hitting the USA.

1 September 2017, Friday (+26,414)

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28 August 2017, Monday (+26.410) North Korea test fired a missile, which overflew the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, travelled 1,000 km and landed in the Pacific. Japan protested at the intrusion into its airspace.

27 August 2017, Sunday (+26,409) A mystery gas cloud drifted in over Beachy Head from the sea; 233 people were taken to Eastbourne Hospital with eye irritation and breathing difficulties. The cloud was possibly chlorine from a ship cleaning out its container tanks.

26 August 2017, Saturday (+26,408) Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, dumping 50 inches of rainfall in the Houston area and causing major flooding.

25 August 2017, Friday (+26,407) Militant Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar attacked 30 police posts and a military base, in response to Burmese persecution of the minority Muslim group. Subsequently, many Rohingya fled across the border into Bangladesh.

17 August 2017, Thursday (+26,399) An Islamist terror attack killed 13 and injured over 100 in Barcelona. A vehicle was driven into pedestrians in Las Ramblas. In a related incident, a car was intercepted by police in the resort of Cambrils; several injuries occurred and the car occupants were killed.

8 August 2017, Tuesday (+26,390) A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Sichuan province, China, killing 19 and injuring 247.

5 August 2017, Saturday (+26,387) The �Lucifer� heatwave hit Europe, with temperatures having reached over 42C in Spain, and predicted to attain 46 C across Italy, the Balkans and Poland, as the jet stream brought very warm air northwards.

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28 July 2017, Friday (+26,379) North Korea launched a further missile, which landed inside the Japanese Economic Zone waters. The missile attained a height which indicated it had intercontinental ballistic capabilities, threatening the US.

21 July 2017, Friday (+26,372) A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Bodrum, SW Turkey.

14 July 2017, Friday (+26,365) Two Israeli policemen were shot by Palestinians near the Temple Mount, Jerusalem. Israel imposed security measures including metal detectors on Muslim worshippers at the Haram al Sharif Mosque. These measures were seen as part of the Israeli occupation and sparked further protests and riots in Jerusalem,

6 July 2017, Thursday (+26,357) Anti-G20 Summit protestors in Hamburg blocked roads and set cars alight.

5 July 2017, Wednesday (+26,356) Volvo announced that it would stop making petrol and diesel only cars within two years, thereafter only manufacturing only electric or hybrid cars, There were rising concerns over vehicle pollution, exacerbated by the Volkswagen emissions scandal, and the Mayor of London, Siddiq Khan, predicted that within eight years, all diesel and petrol cars could face a �24 charge to enter London.

4 July 2017, Tuesday (+26,355) North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile which flew 930 km/580 miles, on US Independence Day.

1 July 2017, Saturday (+26,352) A 1st class stamp cost 65p, and a second class stamp cost 56p.

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19 June 2017, Monday (+26,340) Shortly after midnight a White man drove a van into a crowd of Muslims eating a communal meal in a street in Finsbury Park, London, after the Ramadan fast had ended. One man died and 10 were injured; the driver was arrested.

16 June 2017, Friday (+26,337) German statesman Helmut Kohl died, aged 87.

14 June 2017, Wednesday (+26,335) Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey, 120 flat, residential tower block in the deprived north of Kensington and Chelsea Borough, caught fire just after midnight. The block could have housed as many as 600 people. Around 100 were believed to have been killed, with 64 taken to hospital, 20 in critical care. The cladding panels that had been added to the outside of the block caught fire, setting the entire tower ablaze; cheaper flammable cladding had been used instead of fire-retardant panels.

13 June 2017, Tuesday (+26,334) Otto Warnbier, a 22-year old student at the University of Virginia, was unexpectedly released from North Korea after more than a year in detention following his conviction for stealing a propaganda poster whilst on a tour of the country. He had been sentenced to 15 years hard labour for this offence following a 1-hour trial. He was returned in a state of severe brain damage, and died on 19 June 2017. The cause of his brain damage has not been determined.

10 June 2017, Saturday (+26,331)

9 June 2017, Friday (+26,330) Carles Puigdemont, recent successor to Mas as regional President of Catalonia, announced he would hold an independence referendum on 1 October 2017. Madrid denounced the referendum as illegal and said it would block the poll by any means it could, legal and political.

8 June 2017, Thursday (+26,329) (1) UK General Election. Theresa May, Conservative Prime Minister, had hoped to make large gains, as two years after the 2015 election which gave the Conservatives a majority of just 6, she was well ahead of Labour in the opinion polls in April 2017. However during the election campaign she proposed financial limits on payment for dementia care which would have meant many older people having to sell their home rather than pass it to their families. By the time the election was held her opinion poll lead had shrunk to just 1% to 7%. �The results were, Conservatives 318, loss 18; Labour 261, gain 31; Liberal Democrats 12, gain 3; SNP 35, loss 19; DUP 10, gain 2; Sinn Feinn 7, gain 3; UKIP 0 (no change) Green 1 (no change), Others 12.� Prime Minister Theresa May was forced into a coalition with the DUP to maintain majority government; this could limit her hand on Brexit, since the DUP did not want a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

(2) North Korea test-fired a further land to sea missile.

7 June 2017, Wednesday (+26,328) North Korea test-fired 4 anti-ship missiles.

5 June 2017, Monday (+26,326) Two weeks after US President Trump visited the Middle East and expressed backing for Saudi Arabia, the Saudis and their allies in the region cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and closed the border. They alleged that Qatar was supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Iran.

3 June 2017, Saturday (+26,324) Three Islamist terrorists killed 7 and injured 48 in three simultaneous attacks in London, at London Bridge and Borough Market. The three terrorists were killed by security forces.

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31 May 2017, Wednesday (+26,321) A powerful car bomb exploded in Kabul, killing 90 and injuring a further 460.

29 May 2017, Monday (+26,319) (1) Manuel Noriega, former ruler of Panama, died aged 83.

(2) North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile that flew for 280 miles in 6 minutes before landing in the Sea of Japan. This was reported to be the second test-firing of a missile in two days by North Korea.

28 May 2017, Sunday (+26,318) A temperature of 54 C was recorded at Turbat, Pakistan.

25 May 2017, Thursday (+26,315)

22 May 2017, Monday (+26,312) An Islamist terrorist set off a bomb at a music concert in Manchester. 22 were killed and 59 injured.

21 May 2017, Sunday (+26,311) North Korea test-fired a further ballistic missile.

15 May 2017, Monday (+26,305)

13 May 2017, Saturday (+26,303) North Korea test fired a further ballistic missile, which flew 430 miles. It fell into the sea between Russia and Japan,

12 May 2017, Friday (+26,302) A massive cyber-attack, the biggest in the world to date, hit almost 100 countries across the world. Computers were hit by ransomware, which encrypted their files and users could not recover them without paying several hundred pounds in Bitcoin. In the UK the NHS was badly affected; a vulnerability factor was the continued use of outdated software. The attack combined features of ransomware with a worm that enabled it to spread within computer networks. The identity of the attacker remains unknown.

7 May 2017, Sunday (+26,297) In the final round of the French Presidential Elections, Emmanuel Macron of the En Marche Party won 66.1% of votes cast, against 39.1% for Marine le Pen of the Front National. However Macron was only supported by 43.6% of the total electorate, le Pen receiving 22.4%, whilst 25.4% of voters abstained and 8.5% of ballot papers were left blank or spoilt, as a protest against both the candidates on offer.

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18 April 2017, Tuesday (+26,278) UK Prime Minister Theresa May called a surprise snap General Election for 8 June 2017. With opinion polls showing the Conservatives ahead at 44% against Labour�s 23%, under their unpopular leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Conservatives stood a good chance of enhancing their current majority of 17 to perhaps over 100. However Corbyn said he would not stand at this election, so Labour might have a more electable leader by then.

17 April 2017, Monday (+26,277) Columbian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize winner, died aged 87.

16 April 2017, Sunday (+26,276) Easter Sunday (1) The day after North Korea�s annual celebrations of �The Day of the Sun� (15 April, the anniversary of the birth of the founder of North Korea, President Kim Il Sung), with a large military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea attempted to launch an intercontinental ballistic rocket. However the rocket blew up on the launch pad. President Trump of the USA had, stationed a naval strike force just off North Korea, ready to strike either Pyongyang or the rocket launch pads. On 17 April 2017 North Korea threatened to conduct one missile test every week.

(2) A referendum in Turkey was narrowly won by President Erdogan, with 51.3% of the vote. The victory gave him wider powers.

14 April 2017, Friday (+26,274)

11 April 2017, Tuesday (+26,271) Samir Frangieh, Lebanese leftist politician (born 12 April 1945) died.

10 April 2017, Monday (+26,270) The US sent the large aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to the sea off North Korea, as a show of force.

8 April 2017, Saturday (+26,268)

6 April 2017, Thursday (+26,266) (1) US President Trump ordered the firing of 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat Airbase, Syria, in response to the gas attack of 2 April 2017. 4 were killed. Russia, an ally of Assad, was angry and said the incident had nearly started a war between Russia and the US. Trump said he might fire more missiles into Syria.

(2) An Islamist terrorist drove a lorry into crowds shopping in the centre of Stockholm; 4 people were killed.

5 April 2017, Wednesday (+26,265) North Korea test-fired a medium range missile which they said was capable of destroying a US aircraft carrier. The missile failed.

4 April 2017, Tuesday (+26,264) 58 were killed by poison gas in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun. Government forces under Assad were blamed

3 April 2017, Monday (+26,263) An Islamist terrorist bomb exploded on the St Petersburg metro system; a second bomb was defused.� 14 were killed and 50 injured. The bomber was from Kyrgyzstan.

2 April 2017, Sunday (+26,262) Run-off presidential elections in Ecuador produced a narrow victory for the :Leftist candidate, Moreno (51%) over the 49% for the Rightist Lasso. The narrow margin produced accusations of fraud from the Right. Assange, who had been avoiding extradition to Sweden on rape charges (and on to the US on espionage charges) by hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since August 2012, was relieved; Lasso had said he would evict him if he won.

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28 March 2017, Tuesday (+26,257) (Britain, Europe) Late this evening, UK Prime Minister Theresa May signed Article 50, triggering the exit process of the UK from the EU. The letter was delivered to Donald Tusk (Poland), President of the European Council, on 29 March 2017. The two-year negotiation process was started; however after the inconclusive UK General Election of 8 June 2017 this timetable was looking tight.

22 March 2017, Wednesday (+26,251) In an Islamist terrorist attack on the Houses of Parliament, London, four people died (including the attacker) and 40 were injured. One of the dead was a policeman who was stabbed. A 4x4 was driven across Westminster Bridge, killing and injuring pedestrians, before crashing a barrier at Parliament. One of the injured, a tourist, died later in hospital.

21 March 2017, Tuesday (+26,250) Martin McGuinness, former IRA leader and latterly politician in the peace process, died aged 66.

13 March 2017, Monday (+26,242) Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, announced she would campaign for a second referendum on independence from the UK. This was in response to the imminent triggering of Article 50 by UK Prime Minister Theresa May, starting the exit process from the EU.

6 March 2017, Monday (+26,235) North Korean artillery fired four missiles into the Sea of Japan, as part of an exercise simulating a North Korean attack on US bases in Japan; some missiles landed within 200 miles of Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the move �extremely dangerous�.

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28 February 2017, Tuesday (+26,229) Syria�s close ally Russia, also China, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution authorising sanctions against the Syrian government for use of chemical weapons.

20 February 2017, Monday (+26,221) The UN declared a famine in South Sudan; the first famine it had declared for six years.

12 February 2017, Sunday (+26,213) North Korea successfully launched a solid-fuel Pukguksong-2 missile from a submarine. This was an act of defiance against the new Trump administration in the US.

6 February 2017, Monday (+26,207) The coalition Israeli Government, led by Binyamin Netanyahu, passed a Bill that legalised certain Israeli settlements built on privately-owned Palestinian land.

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29 January 2017, Sunday (+26,199) A White Supremacist student went to a mosque in Quebec and shot six Muslim worshippers. He was later captured by police.

27 January 2017, Friday (+26,197) President Trump of the US issued a controversial executive order instituting a temporary travel ban on the entry of people to the US from seven mainly-Muslim countries. The ban was challenged and overturned in the US Courts.

20 January 2017, Friday (+26,190) President Trump was inaugurated as 45th President of the USA.

18 January 2017, Wednesday (+26,188) Four further earthquakes of magnitudes 5.3, 5.7, 5.3 and 5.1 hit central Italy, close to the site of last year�s quakes. The epicentre was about 130 km NE of Rome, where the tremors were felt. The earthquake was blamed for a snow avalanche that killed 30 tourists at a hotel in eastern-central Italy.

1 January 2017, Sunday (+26,171)

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31 December 2016, Saturday (+26,170) A nightclub in Istanbul packed with New Year�s Eve revellers was attacked by a gunman who killed 39 and injured 69.

20 December 2016, Tuesday (+26159) The Eurasia Road Tunnel, under the Bosporus, Istanbul, Turkey, opened to traffic.

19 December 2016, Monday (+26,158) (1) A large lorry was driven into crowds at a Christmas market in Berlin. The lorry had been hijacked by an Islamist terrorist who killed the Polish driver and drove it, laden with 25 tonnes of steel, into the market. 12 shoppers were killed and 48 injured.

(2) The Russian Ambassador to Turkey was shot dead in an art gallery in Ankara by an Islamist gunman in revenge for the Russian intervention to support pro-Assad forces in Syria. Turkey was in opposition to the Russian policy in Syria, being very anti-Assad.

13 December 2016, Tuesday (+26,152) Aleppo was completely taken by Syrian Government forces, after rebel fighters were defeated, with Russian assistance. However, the Syrian civil war, which had begun in 2011, continued, and fighting was still reported in the Aleppo area.

11 December 2016, Sunday (+26,150) 28 were killed and 49 injured in an ISIS bomb attack on St Mark�s Cathedral, Cairo.

10 December 2016, Saturday (+26,149) An explosion at a football match in Istanbul killed 35 people and injured 155. Kurdish militants were blamed.

4 December 2016, Sunday (+26,143) Matteo Renzi, Italian Prime Minister, resigned after a referendum rejected his government reform proposals by over 60%.

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25 November 2016, Friday (+26,134) Fidel Castro, former leader of Cuba from 1959, died aged 90. He had been succeeded by his brother Raul in 2008.

8 November 2016, Tuesday (+26,117) In US elections, Donald Trump (Republican) defeated Hillary Clinton (Democrat) to become the 45^th President. The Republicans also took the Senate and Congress.

3 November 2016, Thursday (+26,112) (UK, EU) Britain�s High Court ruled that the Prime Minister, Theresa May, could not trigger Article 50 to leave the EU without Parliamentary approval. This ruling was later upheld by the Supreme Court. This opened up the possibility of Parliament severely delaying or even thwarting the Brexit process.

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30 October 2016, Sunday (+26,108) A magnitude 6.6 shallow (10km) earthquake hit central Italy; this was the 4^th significant quake there in four months. Further damage was done to historic buildings but no fatalities were reported.

26 October 2016, Wednesday (+26,104) Demolition of the �Jungle� refugee camp at Calais began. Its residents were dispersed to reception areas across France. However some inhabitants set up their own unofficial tent cities in central Paris.

13 October 2016, Thursday (+26,091) King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand died, aged 88, after a 70-year reign. He was succeeded by Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, after a period of mourning.

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28 September 2016, Wednesday (+26,076) Shimon Peres, Labour leader of Israel from 1977, died aged 93.

9 September 2016, Friday (+26,057) North Korea conducted its 5^th nuclear test, the largest to date.

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27 August 2016, Saturday (+26,044) the NASA space probe Juno successfully skimmed the planet Jupiter, the start of an 18-month mission to gather data on the planet.

24 August 2016, Wednesday (+26,041) (1) The United Nations determined that the Syrian government twice used helicopters to deploy chlorine gas against its opponents, in civilian areas in the northern Idlib province. A later report held the government responsible for a third attack. The attacks occurred in 2014 and 2015. The panel also found that ISIS had used mustard gas.

(2) A shallow magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the Umbria region of central Italy.247 people were killed.

19 August 2016, Friday (+26,036) A 24-hour service was introduced on parts of London Underground�s Victoria and Central Lines.

6 August 2016, Saturday (+26,023) The newly-elected leader of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), or Western Sahara, President Brahim Gali, vowed to continue the fight for liberation from Moroccan occupation.

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22 July 2016, Friday (+26,008) A German-Iranian gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in Munich, killing 9 and injuring 21. He later killed himself.

16 July 2016, Saturday (+26,002) US Presidential candidate Donald Trump announced Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate.

15 July 2016, Friday (+26,001) A military coup began in Turkey. The military wanted to preserve the secular nature of Turkey and were against the Islamist policies of President Erdogan. However by 16 July 2016 the coup had failed, with 161 dead, over 1,400 injured and some 3,000 arrested.

14 July 2016, Thursday (+26,000) Islamist terrorists drove a lorry into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France. 84 were killed and 202 injured, 18 critically. The lorry driver was shot dead by police. The lorry contained guns and explosives, raising fears that a worse attack could have been possible.

13 July 2016, Wednesday (+25,999) Theresa May became Conservative Prime Minister as Cameron resigned. She won with the backing of some 60% of Tory MPs. Other contenders, including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom, had backed out of the leadership contest. The UK had still not yet invoked Chapter 50.

1 July 2016, Friday (+25,987) A 1^st class stamp cost 64p, and a second class stamp cost 55p.

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28 June 2016, Tuesday (+25,984) Line 11 of the Shenzhen Metro opened.

26 June 2016, Sunday (+25,982) (UK, European Union) The fallout from the Brexit vote continued. David Cameron delayed invoking Chapter 50, which would kickstart a 2-year procedure to negotiate the UK�s withdrawal from the EU. Cameron expressed a preference for his successor as Tory leader to undertake these negotiations. Meanwhile EU leaders were pressuring the UK to invoke Chapter 50 soon. The EU leaders feared further �Exit� referenda in countries like France, The Netherlands, Denmark, possibly Sweden, in Spain, Greece, and even Germany and the Czech republic. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn�s, position seemed precarious as ten of his Cabinet resigned, over his lacklustre support for the Remain campaign. There was debate within the UK as to whether the Referendum result was actually binding, especially if a UK General Election ensued within a few months, which itself would require legislation to amend the five year rule for such elections. Also by this afternoon, nearly 3.4 million people had signed a petition asking for a second Brexit Referendum; some signatures were suspected of coming from outside the UK.

23 June 2016, Thursday (+25,979) (UK, European Union) The UK voted 51.9% to leave the European Union in the so-called Brexit referendum. David Cameron resigned as Conservative Prime Minister. The actual figures were, OUT, 17,410,742, IN, 16,141,241, Turnout = 72.2%.

21 June 2016, Tuesday (+25,977) A temperature of 54 C was recorded at Mitribah, Kuwait.

16 June 2016, Thursday (+25,972) Jo Cox, 41, MP for Batley and Spen, a Yorkshire constituency, was killed, shot and stabbed, by Mr Tommy Mair. Mr Mair supported the far-Right and was against immigration, and perceived Ms Cox as favouring immigration.

12 June 2016, Sunday (+25,968) An Islamist gunman, Omar Mateen, entered a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and killed 50 people. It was the worst massacre in recent US history.

3 June 2016, Friday (+25,959) (1) �Severe floods hit Paris and northern France. The River Seine reached over 6 metres above normal level. It was the worst flooding in the region since 1910.

(2) In the UK, four of the seven board members of the National Obesity Forum resigned in protest over a report that people should eat more fat, less sugar, to lose weight.

2 June 2016, Thursday (+25,958) British Home Stores, once a flagship of UK High Streets, went into liquidation. No buyer had been found for the 88-year-old business, putting 163 stores and 11,000 jobs on the line.

1 June 2016, Wednesday (+25,957) The St Gotthard base tunnel opened to rail traffic after 20 years under construction. At 57.5 km, or 35 miles, it was the world�s longest tunnel to date.

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31 May 2016, Tuesday (+25,956) 25 people died in airstrikes in Idlib, Syria.

30 May 2016, Monday (+25,955) The trial of Hissein Habre, aged 73, former President of Chad 1982-1990, concluded. He was found guilty by the Court in Senegal of crimes including mass rape and torture. Overall, an estimated 40,000 people were murdered under his rule before he was deposed and fled into Senegal.

22 May 2016, Sunday (+25,947) In Austrian Presidential elections, Mr Norbert Hofer of the far-Right lost to Mr Alexander Van der Bellen of the Greens by the narrow margin of 0.6%. The result was connected to rising concern about migration into Europe from Asia and Africa.

18 May 2016, Wednesday (+25,943) An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo crashed in the Mediterranean north west of the Nile Delta.

17 May 2016, Tuesday (+25,942) A wave of strikes hit France. Petrol stations ran dry as strikers picketed refinery gates. Workers were objecting to France introducing more flexible labour laws.

10 May 2016, Tuesday (+25,935) Duterte (born 28 March 1945) was elected President of the Philippines.

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22 April 2016, Friday (+25,917) (Environment) Leaders of 175 countries signed the Paris Agreement, setting an accord for tackling climate change.

21 April 2016, Thursday (+25,916) The artist Prince, full name Prince Rogers Nelson, born 7 June 1958, died.

19 April 2016, Tuesday (+25,914)

17 April 2016, Sunday (+25,912) A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit Tonga.

16 April 2016, Saturday (+25,911) The second of two earthquakes hit Japan; the first was on 14 April 2016, magnitude 6.2, on the southern island of Kyushu; 44 died. The second quake was magnitude 7.0, also on Kyushu. Also on 16 April 2016 the most powerful quake for 70 years hit Ecuador, magnitude 7.8, killing over 500 and injuring 4,000.

1 April 2016, Friday (+25,896) The National Living Wage (Minimum Wage) in the UK was set at �7.20 an hour for workers aged 25 or more. The previous Minimum Wage was �6.70 per hour.

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27 March 2016, Sunday (+25,891) Easter Sunday.

22 March 2016, Tuesday (+25,886) Islamic bomb attacks hit central Brussels and Brussels Airport. 37 were killed and 187 injured.

20 March 2016, Sunday (+25,884) US President Barack Obama became the first US President to visit Cuba since 1928, arriving for a 3-day visit.

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19 February 2016, Friday (+25,854) (Great Britain, EU) Prime Minister David Cameron concluded negotiations for a deal redefining the relationship between the UK and the EU. This was a preliminary move before a UK referendum to be held on whether the UK should leave the EU. On 20 February 2016 the date for this referendum was set for 23 June 2016.

7 February 2016, Sunday (+25,842) North Korea launched a satellite into orbit. The US and South Korea made strong protests, because the same rocket technology could be used for an intercontinental nuclear strike.

6 February 2016, Saturday (+25,841) A shallow magnitude 6.4 quake hit Taiwan; 38 people died.

4 February 2016, Thursday (+25,839)

2 February 2016, Tuesday (+25,837) The World Health Organisation declared Zika to be a global emergency, on a par with Ebola, as Brazil mobilised 220,000 troops to fight the disease, spraying against mosquitoes and checking for stagnant water where the mosquito might breed. However the Rio carnival went ahead and Brazil said it would not cancel the Olympics. Cases of microcephaly, which first appeared in Polynesia in 2014, rose in Brazil to 3,700 since October 2015, compared with fewer than 200 in 2014. An estimated 1.5 million Brazilians now carry the Zika virus, which usually causes very little illness in adults, so they may be unaware of any risk to their unborn baby.

1 February 2016, Monday (+25,836) Murray Louis, American dancer and choreographer died (born 1926).

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31 January 2016, Sunday (+25,835) Terry Wogan, radio and TV presenter, died aged 77. He was born on 3 August 1938 in Ireland and became a British citizen in 2005.

27 January 2016 Wednesday (+25,831) Concerns grew about the Zika virus, which if contracted by pregnant women could cause the baby to have microcephaly. The virus is spread by mosquitoes and may affect all the Americas except Canada and Chile, also much of Africa and southern Asia.

10 January 2016, Sunday (+25,814) David Bowie, born in 1947 as David Jones in Brixton, London, died of cancer two days after his 69^th birthday.

6 January 2016, Wednesday (+25,810) North Korea claimed to have exploded a Hydrogen Bomb in an underground test. China, North Korea�s closest ally expressed anger over this and over claims that North Korea had also succeeded in firing a missile from a submarine. However the explosion was smaller than would be expected from a true Hydrogen Bomb, and may have been a �boosted fission� bomb instead.

5 January 2016, Tuesday (+25,809) Violent riots broke out in Kaliachak, West Bengal, India, after political activist Kamlesh Tiwari allegedly insulted the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

4 January 2016, Monday (+25,808) Sweden introduced border controls on the Oresund Bridge border with Denmark to try and slow the influx of migrants. In response Denmark introduced border controls on its German border. The Schengen ideal appeared to be unravelling.

3 January 2016, Sunday (+25,807) The United Kingdom designated Ascension Island and its surrounding waters in the Atlantic Ocean as a Marine protected area. The reserve was almost as big as the UK with just over half of the protected area completely closed to fishing.

2 January 2016, Saturday (+25,806) Saudi Arabia announced the execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr-al-Nimr, along with 46 others accused of promoting violent dissent. There were protests by Shia Muslims across the Middle East.

1 January 2016, Friday (+25,805) The two-child policy took effect in China, allowing couples in the country to have at most two children, replacing the controversial one-child policy. The change in law was announced by the ruling Communist Party on October 29 and passed the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on December 27, five days prior to its effect.

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31 December 2015, Thursday (+25,804) Some 200 women alleged they had been groped, robbed and even raped during New Year�s Eve celebrations in Cologne by migrant gangs. Tensions in Germany over mass immigration increased.

30 December 2015, Wednesday (+25,803) The Philippines said it will join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite disputes between it and the bank's founder, China.

29 December 2015, Tuesday (+25,802) For the first time since March 2014, Guinea was declared free from Ebola virus transmissions by the World Health Organization.

28 December 2015, Monday (+25,801) Iraq retook Ramadi from ISIS.

27 December 2015, Sunday (+25,800) (1) York was hit by flooding, the worst since 1982. By 29 December 2015 some 6,700 properties across northern England had been hit by floods.

26 December 2015, Saturday (+25,799) Heavy rainfall began, lasting for three days, in Missouri, Mississippi and Illinois, causing severe flooding.

25 December 2015, Friday (+25,798) Troops were out in Cumbria erecting flood barriers as the area was flooded by heavy rains for the third time in a month.

16 December 2015, Wednesday (+25,789) The UK�s last deep coal mine, Kellingley Colliery, near Wakefield, Yorkshire, closed. It once employed 3,000 workers.

7 December 2015, Monday (+25,780) (USA) Donald Trump, contender for the Republican Presidential nomination, called for a ban on all Muslims entering the US, after an Islamic gunman shot 14 dead in San Bernardino, California, whilst the conflict with ISIS was still ongoing. There were widespread protests at his comments, and over 550,000 people in the UK signed a petition to ban him from Britain.

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25 November 2015, Wednesday (+25,768) (race, women) The first Asian woman to become a High Court Judge in Britain, Mrs Cheena-Grubb, 49, from Derby, was sworn in. There were now 22 female High Court Judges, compared with just 10 in 2005.

24 November 2015, Tuesday (+25,767) (Islam, Turkey, Russia)Turkey shot down a Russian jet fighter that was taking part in Russia�s pro-Assad campaign in Syria, against both ISIS and non-ISIS rebels. Turkey said the aircraft had transgressed into Turkish airspace, and was warned several times. Russia denied the warnings, and it appeared the jet had at most been in Turkish airspace for 2 or 3 seconds as it (might have) crossed a finger of Turkish territory jutting into Syria.

18 November 2015, Wednesday (+25,761)

12 November 2015, Thursday (+25,755) �Jihadi John� was killed by a US drone strike in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqah, northern Syria.

13 November 2015, Friday (+25,756) Multiple attacks by Islamic gunmen across six sites in Paris, including the Stade de France, the Bataclan concert hall, and the Cambodge restaurant. 132 dead and 352 injured, 99� critically..

5 November 2015, Thursday (+25,748) Pierre Maurice Gy, French chemist, died (born 25 July 1924).

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31 October 2015, Saturday (+25,743) A Russian plane disintegrated in mid-air shortly after taking off from Sharm el Sheikh airport, Egypt, on a flight back to St Petersburg. All 224 people on board were killed.

26 October 2015, Monday (+25,738) A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan, killing over 200 people.

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30 September 2015, Wednesday (+25,712) (Islam, Russia) Russia began airstrikes in Syria, against anti-Assad rebels.

24 September 2015, Thursday (+25,706) 717 pilgrims died and 863 were injured in a stampede at Mina during the Haj, Mecca.

23 September 2015, Wednesday (+25,705) The head of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, resigned over the scandal over faked emissions levels.

18 September 2015, Friday (+25,700) A major scandal broke at Volkswagen when it emerged that the company had developed special �Defeat� software to fool US government testing procedures to test the nitrous oxide emissions levels of their diesel cars. The cars appeared to emit 40x less pollution than would be the actual case in real-world motoring; the cars also appeared to be more fuel-efficient than in reality, due to procedures such as removing the wing mirrors to reduce drag.

14 September 2015, Monday (+25,696) Gravity waves generated by a collision between two Black Holes were detected by interferometers at the LIGO facility in the US.

11 September 2015, Friday (+25,693) A crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque, Mecca, killing 109 worshippers.

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28 August 2015, Friday (+25,679) McKinley National Park, USA, was renamed �Denali�.

24 August 2015, Monday (+25,675) English racing driver Justin Wilson died of injuries sustained in a crash the previous day.

21 August 2015, Friday (+25,672) (Iran, UK, US) Britain and Iran re-opened their embassies in each other�s capitals. This followed a nuclear agreement between Iran and the USA organised by US President Obama (but not yet ratified by US Congress).

20 August 2015, Thursday (+25,671) Kim Jong Un, President of North Korea, put his troops on a war footing in reaction to South Korea blasting propaganda messages by loudspeaker across the border. Seoul said the propaganda broadcasts, the first since 2004, were in retaliation for a landmine that maimed two South Korean soldiers. North Korea threatened to shoot out the loudspeakers. There was also exchange of gunfire between the two countries.

18 August 2015, Tuesday (+25,669)

17 August 2015, Monday (+25,668) A terrorist bomb exploded at the Erawan Buddhist shrine in central Bangkok, killing over 20 and injuring more than 120. No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

12 August 2015, Wednesday (+25,663) A large explosion in Tianjin, China, destroyed a warehouse containing several hundred tons of hazardous chemicals. At least 50 died and over 700 injured.

7 August 2015, Friday (+25,552) The U.N. Security Council authorised investigators to probe reports of chemical weapons use in Syria, as reports circulated of repeated chlorine gas attacks by government forces against civilians in opposition-held areas. Chlorine gas, though not as toxic as nerve agents, can be classified as a chemical weapon depending on its use.

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26 July 2015, Sunday (+25,646) Ebola continued in Guinea and Sierra Leone, albeit at much lower levels than the peak of the late-2014 outbreak. The Lancet reported on a vaccine with a 1005 success rate, as total cases from February 2014 now stood at: Guinea, 3,786 cases, 2,520 deaths; Liberia, 10,672 cases, 4,808 deaths; Sierra Leone, 13,290 cases, 3,951 deaths. There had also been 1 case in Italy, 8 cases and 6 deaths in Mali, 20 cases and 8 deaths in Nigeria, 1 case in Senegal, 1 case in Spain, 1 case in the UK, and 4 cases, 1 death in the USA.

20 July 2015, Monday (+25,640) The trial of former Chadian President (1982-1990), Hissein Habre, began, see 30 May 2016.

14 July 2015, Tuesday (+25,634) (1) Iran and the West reached a nuclear deal.

(2) The space probe New Horizons reached Pluto.

5 July 2015, Sunday (+25,625) A referendum in Greece solidly rejected the austerity measures demanded by the IMF and Brussels as a condition of further loans to Greece to rescue its economy. However these measures were largely implemented after the Greek banks and stock exchange closed and drastic limits were imposed on cashpoint withdrawals.

1 July 2015, Wednesday (+25,621) The average cost of entry to a UK theme park stood at �55, up 80% on ten years earlier. A pint of beer averaged �3.15, up from �2.34 ten years earlier. Retail prices had risen by 29% over ten years.

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30 June 2015, Tuesday (+25,620) Europe�s refugee crisis continued To this day, illegal arrivals from 1 January 2015 totalled over 340,000. 102,342 refugees from the Middle East and Kosovo had arrived via Hungary; 132,340 from the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan areas had arrived via Turkey and Greece; 91,302 from Africa had arrived via Libya and Italy, and 6,698 from Syria and west Africa had arrived via Spain.

26 June 2015, Friday (+25,616) Islamist gunmen stormed a tourist beach at Sousse, Tunisia, shooting dead 38 holidaymakers. The Tunisian holiday industry subsequently collapsed. Simultaneous terrorist attacks took place in France and Kuwait.

16 June 2015, Tuesday (+25,606) Donald Trump launched his campaign for the US Presidency.

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29 May 2015, Friday (+25,588) In India, over 2,000 had died because of heatwave, with temperatures reaching 50 C. This exceeded the previous toll of 1,677 in a heatwave in 1995.

23 May 2015, Saturday (+25,582) (Ireland, Homosexuality) Ireland voted by a margin of 2:1 to legalise gay marriage. The result, 1,201,607 YES votes against 734,300 NO, was remarkable in a strongly Catholic country. The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, said the Church may have become disconnected with young people, and ruled out gay marriages in Catholic churches.

12 May 2015, Tuesday (+25,571) �A second powerful earthquake hit Nepal. The 7.3 magnitude tremor struck 80 kilometres north east of Kathmandu, inuring over 1,000 people.

7 May 2015, Thursday (+25,566) General election in the UK. David Cameron won a narrow majority for the Conservatives with 331 seats. The Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) swept the board in Scotland, winning 59 of the 59 seats there; Labour lost a large number of MPs there, also losing seats to the Conservatives in England; Labour finished with 232 seats. The Liberal Democrats crashed to just 8 seats, from 56. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) won 12.6% of the vote but obtained just one MP, in Clacton; their leader, Nigel Farage, lost his Thanet South seat to the Conservatives. The UKIP leader Nigel Farage, the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and the Labour leader Ed Miliband all resigned. The Conservatives picked up voted from Liberal Democrats and from UKIP supporters afraid of a Labour-SNP coalition; UKIP came second in over 100 constituencies. Voters may also have feared a Leftist government creating an economic crisis similar to that recently suffered by Greece.

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25 April 2015, Saturday (+25,554) Earthquake in Nepal killed 7,500 and injured 14,000. The magnitude 7.9 quake struck 80 kilometres north west of Kathmandu.

19 April 2015, Sunday (+25,548) The heaviest casualty incident to date of the ongoing unofficial migrant sailings across the Mediterranean to Europe occurred this day, when 770 drowned as their boat sank off the Libyan coast. In September 2014 500 drowned off Malta, on 12 April 2015 400 died as their boat capsized off Libya and on 3 October 2013 368 migrants drowned off Lampedusa. Between January and end-July 2015 187,000 migrants had arrived in the EU; 96,971 arrived in Italy, 88,695 to Greece and 1,674 had arrived in Spain.

5 April 2015, Sunday (+25,534) Easter Sunday.

1 April 2015, Wednesday (+25,530) ISIS forces took Palmyra.

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25 March 2015, Wednesday (+25,523) The BBC decided not to renew Jeremy Clarkson�s Top Gear contract after a dispute which turned physical.

24 March 2015, Tuesday (+25,522) A Germanwings plane, flying from Spain to Germany, crashed into the Alps, killing all 320 on board. It appeared that the co-pilot, having spiked the pilot�s coffee with a diuretic to ensure he left the cockpit for the toilet, then locked him out of the cabin and deliberately crashed the plane into the mountains at speed.

23 March 2015, Monday (+25,521) Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore who played a major role in the development of that country, died aged 91. He became first Prime Minister of newly-independent Singapore in 1959, remaining in government until 2011. He took Singapore into a federation with Malaysia in 1963, and took it out in 1965. He ran Singapore with a strong hand, but achieved economic growth that averaged 7% a year for four decades.

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27 February 2015, Friday (+25,497) The Russian opposition politician, Boris Nemtsov, was assassinated in Moscow; born 9 October 1959 he was aged 55. In the late 1990s Nemtsov was a close associate of Yeltsin, who put him in charge of economic reforms, although the economic crash of 1998, in which many ordinary Russians lost everything, severely dented his credibility. Nemtsov was a co-founder of the Union of Rightists, which won 8.6% of the vote, 6 million votes, in the Russian elections of 1999, and became Deputy Speaker of the Russian Parliament in February 2000, a month after Putin became President. However Nemtsov�s party was perceived as having confused policies in the face of stronger leadership by Putin and in 2003 the Union of Rightists failed to meet the threshold for qualifying for any seats in the Duma. Outside the political arena, Nemtsov became more critical of Putin, who in turn attempted to undermine Nemtsov�s business interests. Nemtsov continued to criticise Putin and government corruption generally, also censuring Putin�s involvement in the Ukraine, the shooting down of a Malaysian aircraft, and Russian annexation of the Crimea, whilst Putin was trying to publically distance himself from �Ukrainian rebel forces� in eastern Ukraine. Nemtsov had been organising an anti-Ukraine-war march in Moscow for 1 March 2015 and this march became his silent memorial procession by tens of thousands of Russians. The Kremlin, in order to prevent the bridge where Nemtsov had been killed from becoming a memorial to him, hosted a celebration of the annexation of Crimea there later in March 2015.

19 February 2015, Thursday (+25,489) Nissan�s first President and car designer Yutaka Kataytama died.

14 February 2015, Saturday (+25,484)� In scenes reminiscent of the Paris Charlie Hebdo shootings (7 January 2015) an Islamist terrorist, Omar el Hussein, 22, shot dead Finn Norgaard, a 55 year old film director, at a Free Speech meeting at a cafe in central Copenhagen, at 3.30 pm Saturday.� The Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who portrayed the prophet Mohammed as a �mad dog� in 2007, was beloved to have been the main target; Hussein�s entry into the cafe was thwarted by a metal detector, prompting him to spray some 200 bullets from the entrance. Hussein then went to the Krystalgade synagogue and opened fire, killing the doorman Dan Uzan, 37, and wounding two police officers, at a Bat-Mitzvah, at 1am Sunday. Danish police identified the gunman and traced his address to an apartment in the Norrebro district; by then he was on his way to the synagogue. At 5am the next morning, 15 February, armed police shot Hussein at his apartment. Hussein had just been released from prison in Denmark two weeks earlier after serving a term for aggravated assault.

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26 January 2015, Monday (+25,465) (1) Saudi Arabia led air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

(2) The Church of England appointed its first woman bishop. The Reverend Libby Lane became suffragan Bishop of Stockport at a ceremony in York Cathedral.

25 January 2015, Sunday (+25,464) (1) The Greek operatic singer Demis Roussos, born 14 June 1946, died. He sold 60 million albums, and was also known for his excess weight, 23 stone at its peak. Because of his weight be began to wear kaftans for his stage performances, reverting to trousers when he began a weight loss programme in 1980.

(2) In Greece the Left-Wing populist party Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, won the elections. Greece was suffering the effects of an austerity programme having gone through a major recession and owing massive debts to the EU. Syriza now threatened to default on Greece�s repayment schedule, much to the consternation of Germany. Greek debts in 2015 amounted to 175% of its GDP, with 25% unemployment.

21 January 2015, Wednesday (+25,460) Confirmed Ebola cases in Guinea reached 2,806 cases with 1,814 deaths. In Liberia cases eached 8,331 cases with 3,538 deaths. In Sierra Leone cases reached 10,124, with 3,062 deaths.

9 January 2015, Friday (+25,448) Confirmed Ebola cases in Sierra Leone reached 7,718, with early 3,000 deaths. However the epidemic seemed to be abating, with many areas free of new cases for over a month.

7 January 2015, Wednesday (+25,446) Ten cartoonists were shot dead at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, along with 2 policemen, by Islamists in revenge for perceived anti-Islamic cartoons.

1 January 2015, Thursday (+25,440)

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31 December 2014, Wednesday (+25,439) During 2014, malaria killed 627,000 worldwide, 77% of these being children under 5. In 2014 there were 207 million new cases of malaria, and Africa lost an estimated US$ 12 million productivity due to the disease.

28 December 2014, Sunday (+25,436) An Air Asia flight crashed into the Java Sea off Borneo, killing all 162 people on board. It had climbed too steeply and then stalled.

23 December 2014, Tuesday (+25,431) Construction work began on a canal across Nicaragua, 173 miles long but designed to take larger ships than the Panama Canal. The US$ 50 billion (UK� 32 billion) project would displace 29,000 people and there were fears that freshwater Lake Managua would be polluted. The Chinese-backed project, headed by Hong Kong based� HKND, was granted a renewable 50-year concession to build and operate the canal, in return for a US$ 10 billion operating fee. President Ortega�s Sandinista administration promised the project would create thousands of jobs during construction, but many Nicaraguans perceived the government as corrupt.

17 December 2014, Wednesday (+25,425) The European Parliament voted to recognise the Palestinian State by 498 votes to 88.

16 December 2014, Tuesday (+25,424) Taliban gunmen scaled the wall of an army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan, and began shooting indiscriminately. 141 schoolchildren were killed before the army regained control; many more had been injured. This was in revenge for Army attacks on the Taliban.

15 December 2014, Monday (+25,423) In Hong Kong police cleared away the barricades set up in September 2014 by pro-democracy demonstrators who were demanding free elections without preliminary screening of the candidates by Beijing. The Chinese President, Xi Jinping, had won against the Occupy Central movement, but popular discontent, by young educated students from affluent families remained.

4 December 2014, Thursday (+25,412) Former leader of the UK Liberal Party, Jeremy Thorpe, died aged 85. He became Party Leader in 1967, having been MP for North Devon since 1959.

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29 November 2014, Saturday (+25,407) Across Britain, mystery explosions or sonic booms were heard. There were also reports of an explosion in Manchester, and near Catterick barracks, where a six-mile stretch of the A1 was closed, but no damage was to be found. Theories ranged from falling satellite debris to meteorites to secret MoD experiments.

25 November 2014, Tuesday (+25,403)

24 November 2014, Monday (+25,402) In Missouri, the Prosecutor�s Office announced it would not press charges against a policeman, Mr Wilson, for shooting dead a Black teenager, Michael Brown (see 9 August 2014). Several nights rioting followed.

20 November 2014, Thursday (+25,398) In Britain�s Rochester and Strood by-election, UKIP won its second MP.

12 November 2014,� Wednesday (+25,390) The Philae Lander touched down onto a comet, 320 million miles from Earth; the first such landing accomplished. Although the craft bounced and ended up partially shaded from the Sun, useful data was returned until the probe finally �died� on 9 July 2015.

9 November 2014, Sunday (+25,387) (1) Islamic terrorists dressed in school uniforms set off suicide bombs at a school assembly.

(2) In Catalonia a poll was held by the regional government on independence from Spain. The national government had already declared it would not consider the poll result binding, and anti-separatists boycotted the poll. 2.3 million voted out of an electorate of 5.4 million. Of these, 1.6 million answered �yes� to both questions, �Do you think Catalonia should be a State�, and �If so, should it be independent from Spain�. Artur Mas, leader of the independence campaign, claimed a success. Catalonia complained that as Spain�s wealthiest region, it contributed more to the State than it received in return. The Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Mariano Rajoy of the Popular Party, replied that money was short and Catalonia must wait until the general economy improved.

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29 October 2014, Wednesday (+25,376) 150 Kurdish fighters set off from Erbil (Kurdish Iraq) to travel through �Turkish territory to reinforce Kurdish fighters across the Turkish-Syria border battling ISIS in the Syrian border town of Kobani. ISIS began to lose ground there, as Syrian Kurds were reinforced by US arms drops and US air strikes against ISIS. The fight for Kobani assumed increased importance as the global TV media focussed on the battle from just across the border in Turkey. The issue of Turkey allowing Kurdish reinforcements across its territory was sensitive because Turkey has its own Kurdish minority region in the south-east.

27 October 2014, Monday (+25,374) The total Ebola toll was as follows. Democratic Republic of Congo, 70 cases, 49 deaths. Guinea, 1,906 cases, 997 deaths. Liberia, 6,535 cases, 2,413 deaths. Mali, 1 case, 1 death. Nigeria, 20 cases, 8 deaths � declared free of Ebola. Senegal, 1 case, o deaths� - declared free of Ebola. Sierra Leone, 5,235 cases, 1,500 deaths.

22 October 2014, Wednesday (+25,369) Total Ebola cases now stood at 9,936, with 4,877 deaths. Mali reported its first case.

21 October 2014, Tuesday (+25,368) Gough Whitlam, former Labor Prime Minister of Australia from 1972, died aged 98. He extricated Australian troops from Vietnam, ended conscription, set up commissions into equal pay, Aboriginal land rights and school funding, set up State-funded healthcare, liberalised abortion laws, introduced votes at 18 and free university education. He also gave Papua New Guinea independence, and forged closer relations with China.

18 October 2014, Saturday (+25,365) The total Ebola toll was as follows. Guinea, 1,519 cases, 7788 deaths. Liberia, 4,076 cases, 2,316 deaths. Nigeria, 20 cases, 8 deaths. Senegal, 1 case, 0 deaths. Sierra Leone, 3,410 cases, 1,200 deaths. Overall total, 9,191 cases, 4,546 deaths.

14 October 2014, Tuesday (+25,361) A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit El Salvador and Nicaragua.

13 October 2014, Monday (+25,360) The British Parliament voted by 274 to 12 to recognise the Palestinian State. The vote had little real impact and was essentially symbolic; it followed a similar vote by the Swedish Parliament earlier in October 2014.

11 October 2014, Saturday (+25,358) The number of Ebola deaths in West Africa passed 4,000.

9 October 2014, Thursday (+25,356) UKIP got its first MP elected in the Clacton by-election, taking the seat from the Conservatives, as voters concerns about immigration rose. UKIP also came close to winning another by-election this day in Heywood & Middleton, Manchester; Labour held the seat by just 617 votes.

4 October 2014, Saturday (+25,351) (1) Jean Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier died, aged 63. He became dictator of Haiti in 1971. Like his father, Papa Doc, he lived in luxury whilst most Haitians lacked paved roads or sewerage. The poorer Haiti was, the more foreign aid came in, to be diverted to luxuries for the Duvaliers. In the 1980s the Haitian economy collapsed, with many fleeing on boats to Florida; in 1986 food riots forced the Duvaliers to flee, on an American plane. He was useful to the USA as an anti-Communist close to Cuba, and Haiti was a non-unionised cheap-labour locale for US businesses. To universal surprise he returned to Haiti in 2011, after the disastrous earthquake, broken, he said, by exile, and claiming he wished to help his country. His ex-wife Michelle had bankrupted him, taking all the money, and Jean Claude was reduced to living in two rented rooms in Paris. A Haitian judge ruled that any charges against him were time-expired.

(2) 1 kg carrots cost 70p. 2 pints of milk cost 89p.

3 October 2014, Friday (+25,350) Sweden became the first EU country to recognise the Palestinian State. Israel withdrew its ambassador in protest.

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26 September 2014, Friday (+25,343) The total Ebola toll was as follows. Democratic Republic of Congo, 70 cases, 42 deaths. Guinea, 1,074 cases, 648 deaths. Liberia, 3,458 cases, 1,830 deaths. Nigeria, 20 cases, 8 deaths. Senegal, 1 case, 0 deaths. Sierra Leone, 2,021 cases, 605 deaths.

22 September 2014, Monday (+25,339) (1) A US-led coalition began air strikes against ISIS in Syria.

(2) Tesco shared fell sharply as the food retailer admitted overstating its profits by some �250 million. The issue was with clawed-back payments from Tesco�s suppliers, in return for better shelf positioning and other �perks�; future such payments had been included in earlier-period profit statements.

20 September 2014, Saturday (+25,337) The total Ebola toll was as follows. Guinea, 1,008 cases, 632 deaths. Liberia, 3,022 cases, 1,578 deaths. Nigeria, 20 cases, 8 deaths. Senegal, 1 case, 0 deaths. Sierra Leone, 1,813 cases, 593 deaths.

18 September 2014, Thursday (+25,335) Referendum in Scotland on independence from the UK; the vote was 55.4% against independence (�No�), .44.6% �Yes�, for independence. Had the been vote for independence, Scotland would have become independent on 24 March 2016.

12 September 2014, Friday (+25,329) The Reverend Ian Paisley died, aged 88. A devout Protestant, he founded the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, and he was MP for Antrim for 40 years, before becoming Lord Bannside. He also founded the Free Presbyterian Church.

6 September 2014, Saturday (+25,323) A small meteorite landed in woods near Managua, Nicaragua, leaving a crater 5 metres deep and 24 metres across.

4 September 2014, Thursday (+25,321) Joan Rivers, US actress, died aged 81/

1 September 2014, Monday (+25,318) Russian-backed separatists took control of Luhansk Airport, and of Novalsk, eastern Ukraine.

====================================================================================

28 August 2014, Thursday (+25,314) Pro-Russian rebels took the Ukrainian town of Novoazovsk.

26 August 2014, Tuesday (+25,312) A long history of child abuse in Rotherham emerged, mostly by Pakistani men against White girls. As many as 1,400 children may have been abused between 1997 and 2003, some whilst they were in children�s� homes. Local authorities were accused covering up the abuse, for fear of provoking racial discord.

20 August 2014, Wednesday (+25,306) Anti-Semitic attacks occurred in Paris. A synagogue in Sarcelles, a working-class suburb of northern Paris with many Sephardic Jews, known as �Little Jerusalem�, was threatened. Youths from the French Jewish defence League defended the synagogue so Muslims attacked Kosher shops instead. The Muslim attacks followed from the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

19 August 2014, Tuesday (+25,305) ISIS beheaded a western hostage, James Foley.

17 August 2014, Sunday (+25,303)

15 August 2014, Friday (+25,301) The United Nations passed a resolution backing sanctions on any country supplying, fighting for, or funding IS (ISIS).

14 August 2014, Thursday (+25,300), Mr Nuria al Maliki resigned after 8 years as Iraqi Prime Minister. He had backed the Shias against other ethnic groups, and his replacement, Haider al Abadi, 62, was to be more inclusive.

13 August 2014, Wednesday (+25,299) The UN estimated that a total of 2,086 people had been killed in the Ukraine conflict so far, double the toll from 2 weeks earlier. In mid-August, Ukrainian forces were making headway against rebel Russian backed forces.

12 August 2014, Tuesday (+25,298) Nearly 300 Russian lorries laden with �aid� for the rebels in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, set off from Moscow.� The Ukrainian Government in Kiev attempted to halt the convoy.

11 August 2014, Monday (+25,297) Robin Williams, star actor in the film Mrs Doubtfire, died aged 63.

10 August 2014, Sunday (+25,296)

9 August 2014, Saturday (+25,295) A Black man, Mr Brown, was shot dead by a White policeman, Mr Darren Wilson, in the suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, USA. Several nights of racial-based rioting followed.

8 August 2014, Friday (+25,294) The US carried out its first air strike against ISIS on Iraqi territory.

5 August 2014, Tuesday (+25,291) Baroness Warsi resigned from Cameron�s� UK Conservative Government. She had criticised the UK Government�s refusal to condemn Israel over the assault on Gaza.

1 August 2014,� Friday (+25,287) 250g mature cheddar cheese cost �2.00. Six medium size free range eggs cost �1.25. 750g smoked gammon joint cost �4.00. 1kg garden peas cost �1.60. 1kg red seedless grapes cost �4.00. 4 pints semi-skimmed milk cost �1.00. 160 PG Tips 500g cost �4.00. A 400g quiche Lorraine cost �2.30. 150g peppered salami cost �1.70. A 4-pack toilet rolls aloe vera cost �2.00.

=====================================================================================

31 July 2014, Thursday (+25,286) The number of fatalities in the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia passed 1,200; cases were also reported in Nigeria.

30 July 2014, Wednesday (+25,285) The EU imposed more sanctions on Russia for its backing of Ukrainian rebels.

26 July 2014, Saturday (+25,281) The death toll in the Ukraine conflict reached 1,129; 799 of them were civilians.

24 July 2014, Thursday (+25,279) An Air Algerie flight en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers crashed in the Sahara Desert; it was initially uncertain whether sandstorms or terrorist activity was the cause.

23 July 2014, Wednesday (+25,278) Joseph Wood, convicted of double murder, took nearly 2 hours to die by lethal injection in an Arizona prison. Questions were raised on the practicality of the death sentence in America.

22 July 2014, Tuesday (+25,277) A Palestinian rocket landed within 2 kilometres of Israel�s Ben Gurion Airport (see 8 July 2014), causing many airlines to cancel flights to Israel.

19 July 2014, Saturday (+25,274) US actor James Garner died aged 86,

17 July 2014, Thursday (+25,272) A Malaysian airliner, flight MH17, with 298 on board was shot down 30 kilometres west of the Ukraine-Russia border with no survivors, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

13 July 2014, Sunday (+25,268), (1) Russia warned of severe consequences after a Ukrainian shell was fired across the border and killed a Russian.

(2) Germany beat Argentina to win the World Cup in Brazil. There had been unrest amongst Brazil�s poor over the money spent on the Games.

12 July 2014, Saturday (+25,267) Ukraine sent war jets into Donetsk, and claimed to have killed 500 rebels.

11 July 2014, Friday (+25,266) A magnitude 4.6 earthquake hit Jersey, Channel Islands; the largest quake in the area since a 5.6 magnitude tremor hit Guernsey in 1926.

8 July 2014, Tuesday (+25,263) Israel launched a major attack on the Gaza Strip, firing in rockets, followed by a ground invasion, following a series of rockets launched into Israel from Gaza.

5 July 2014, Saturday (+25,260) Pro-Russian rebels abandoned the Ukrainian town of Slavyansk after heavy fighting.

4 July 2014, Friday (+25,259) Former entertainer Rolf Harris, 84, was sentenced to 5 years 9 months for sexual crimes against children in the 1970s and 80s.

2 July 2014, Wednesday (+25,257) In revenge for the killing of three Israeli teenagers on 30 June 2014, a Palestinian youth was murdered by Israeli settlers.

1 July 2014, Tuesday (+25,256) The average UK house price was �182,334. A litre of petrol cost �1.30. 20 cigarettes cost �8.47.

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30 June 2014, Monday (+25,255) The bodies of three Jewish teenagers were found after they had been kidnapped probably by Palestinians on 12 June.

29 June 2014, Sunday (+25,254) ISIS declared a Caliphate.

27 June 2014, Friday (+25,252)

24 June 2014, Tuesday (+25,249) Rebels shot down a Ukrainian helicopter, killing 9. The UN estimated that over 420 had died in the conflict so far.

23 June 2014, Monday (+25,248) The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said it had removed the last of the Syrian government's chemical weapons. Syrian opposition officials maintained that the government's stocks were not fully accounted for, and that it retained supplies.

20 June 2014, Friday (+25,245) Ukrainian President Poroshenko declared a week-long truce.

16 June 2014, Monday (+25,241) Russia cut gas supplies to the Ukraine.

14 June 2014, Saturday (+25,239) Pro Russian rebels shot down a Ukrainian warplane.

13 June 2014, Friday (+25,238) A 17-year-old Roma youth was attacked by about 20 men and left in a coma in the northern Paris suburb of Pierrefitte sur Seine. Many Roma lived in makeshift camps and had been blamed for rat infestations and burglaries. There was conflict between Moroccans and Roma in Paris.

6 June 2014, Friday (+25,231) Putin and Poroshenko called for an end to violence in the Ukraine.

4 June 2014, Wednesday (+25,229) US President Obama condemned Russian �aggression� in Ukraine.

===================================================================================

28 May 2014, Wednesday (+25,222) Abdel Fattah al Sisi was elected President of Egypt.

25 May 2014, Sunday (+25,219)� Petro Poroshenko was elected Ukrainian President.

19 May 2014, Monday (+25,213) Sir Jack Brabham, Australian racing driver, died aged 88.

15 May 2014, Thursday (+25,209) General Wojciech Jarulzelski died, aged 90. He was appointed Defence Minister of Poland in 1968; in 1970 his troops shot dozens of striking shipyard workers in Gdansk and Gdynia, and was leader of Poland during the rise of Solidarnosc.

11 May 2014, Sunday (+25,205) The Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence after referendums.

2 May 2014, Friday (+25,196) Pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian factions clashed in Odessa; 42 people died.

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29 April 2014, Tuesday (+25,193) Bob Hoskins, British actor, died.

20 April 2014, Sunday (+25,184) Easter Sunday.

15 April 2014, Tuesday (+25,179) Kiev began �anti-terrorist� operations in eastern Ukraine.

14 April 2014, Monday (+25,178) Islamic terrorists set off a bomb in Abuja, Nigeria, killing 70. Meanwhile Boko Haram� abducted 200 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, northern Nigeria.

10 April 2014, Thursday (+25,174)

7 April 2014, Monday (+25,171) Pro Russian gunmen seized government buildings in eastern Ukraine.

6 April 2014, Sunday (+25,170) US actor Mickey Rooney died aged 93.

4 April 2014, Friday (+25,168) The railway line at Dawlish re-opened after storm damage was repaired, see 4 February 2014.

2 April 2014, Wednesday (+25,166) A magnitude 8.2 earthquake hit just off the coast of northern Chile. Casualties were few as the resultant tsunami was small.

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31 March 2014, Monday (+25,164)� The price of postage stamps in the UK rose from 60p to 62p first class and from 50p to 53p second class.

29 March 2014, Saturday (+25,162) Same-sex marriages became legal in England and Wales.

18 March 2014, Tuesday (+25,151) Russian President Putin signed a Bill to absorb the Crimea into Russia.

16 March 2014, Sunday (+25,149) Russia organised a widely-discredited referendum in the Crimea which produced an alleged 97%vote in favour of the region leaving the Ukraine and (re)joining Russia.

14 March 2014, Friday (+25,147) Anthony Wedgewood Benn, Labour politician, died aged 88. Against UK membership of the European Union, he was on the left of the Labour Party, and fought to renounce his hereditary peerage so he could sit in the Commons as an MP.

8 March 2014, Saturday (+25,141) A Malaysia Airlines flight from Malaysia to China vanished over the South China Sea. Initial suspicions that it had crashed gave way to reports that its tracking systems had been deliberately switched off and it had flown on for hours afterwards, possibly as far as Kazakhstan, or had gone down in the southern Indian Ocean. The fate of the plane remained unknown by end August 2014; by which time UK� 28.5 million had been spent on searching the seabed for it. In September 2014 a new search initiative began, across an area of ocean of 1.1 million square kilometres west of Australia, at a further cost of UK� 29.4 million.

1 March 2014, Saturday (+25,134) The Russian Parliament approved Vladimir Putin�s request to deploy the Russian military in the Crimea.

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28 February 2014, Friday (+25,133) Pro-Russian gunmen seized government buildings in Simferopol, capital of the Crimea. The Crimea was originally part of Russia until transferred to Ukraine in 1954, and in 2014 still had a large Russian population.

27 February 2014, Thursday (+25,132) In Russia, Viktor Yanukoyvitch insisted he was still legitimate leader of the Ukraine. The Ukrainian Government had issued a warrant for his arrest on 24 February 2014.

25 February 2014, Tuesday (+25,130)

22 February 2014, Saturday (+25,127) In the Ukraine, pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukoyvitch fled after snipers killed protestors in central Kiev, and rival Yulia Tymoshenko was freed.

20 February 2014, Thursday (+25,125) 88 died in riots in the Ukraine.

18 February 2014, Tuesday (+25,123) In the Ukraine, 26 died and hundreds injured in clashes between pro-government and pro-western factions.

13 February 2014, Thursday (+25,118) George Osborne, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, warned that an independent Scotland (see 18 September 2014) would not be able to keep the Pound as a currency.

12 February 2014, Wednesday (+25,117) Explosive packages, linked to Ireland, were sent to UK Army recruitment offices across southern England, and a further package was discovered in a shopping centre in Slough. None exploded and all were defused.

11 February 2014, Tuesday (+25,116)

10 February 2014, Monday (+25,115) (1) Severe flooding was now affecting large areas of Surrey and Berkshire west of London, including Staines, Datchet and Windsor.

(2) In the UK, MPs voted to ban smoking in cars carrying children.

9 February 2014, Sunday (+25,114) In a referendum, 50.3% of voters backed a quota on immigration proposed by the Right-wing Swiss Peoples Party (SVP). Turnout was 56%. A quarter of the Swiss population are immigrants. The Francophone west was opposed to quotas but the German-speaking east backed them. The EU criticised the vote; although Switzerland is not part of the EU it has close economic ties with it, and is part of the Schengen Agreement. The Swiss Government and business leaders opposed the quotas.

8 February 2014, Saturday (+25,113) As severe storms continued to batter the coast of south and west England, with widespread persistent flooding, a landslip closed the railway at Crewkerne, Somerset. All of Devon and Cornwall were now without rail services.

4 February 2014, Tuesday (+25,109) A section of the main-line railway between Exeter and Plymouth was washed away by heavy seas at Dawlish, as severe storms and heavy rain continued to batter Britain. The line re-opened on 4 April 2014.

2 February 2014, Sunday (+25,107) US actor Philip Seymour Hoffmann died.

1 February 2014, Saturday (+25,106) Violent protests in Bangkok.

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28 January 2014, Tuesday (+25,102) The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov, resigned as anti-protest laws were repealed by the government.

25 January 2014, Saturday (+25,099) Violent protests in Ukraine continued between pro-EU and pro-Moscow factions.

22 January 2014, Wednesday (+25,096) Police in Kiev, Ukraine, shot dead two anti-government protestors.

14 January 2014, Tuesday (+25,088) ISIS forces took Raqqa, Syria.

11 January 2014, Saturday (+25,085) Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died, aged 85, after eight years in a coma. See 4 January 2006.

4 January 2014, Saturday (+25,078) ISIS forces took Fallujah, Iraq.

3 January 2014, Friday (+25,077) Anti-Assad groups in northern Syria united against ISIS.

1 January 2014, Wednesday (+25,075) The US State of Colorado legalised the sale and consumption of cannabis for personal use.

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24 December 2013, Tuesday (+25,067) Alan Turing, the mathematician who broke the Nazi codes during World War Two but who was convicted of gross indecency for a homosexual act with a man in 1952,� was posthumously pardoned by Queen Elizabeth II. He was given chemical castration but his criminal record meant he could no longer work for GCHQ and he committed suicide by cyanide poisoning in 1954, aged 41. Prominent figures including Stephen Hawking and Peter Tatchell had been campaigning for a pardon for several years.

23 December 2013, Monday (+25,066) A succession of intense storms hit the UK, with heavy rainfall and high winds. There was serious flooding, especially in the Surrey area. The heavy rainfall continued into February 2014, with flooding in the Somerset Levels.

20 December 2013, Friday (+25,063) Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, criminalising homosexual activities, some of which were now punishable by life imprisonment. The Act was supported by some evangelical Christian groups.

18 December 2013, Wednesday (+25,061) Great Train Robber Ronald Biggs died aged 84. The robbery was in 1963.

5 December 2013, Thursday (+25,048) (1) Nelson Mandela died, aged 95.

(2) Severe storms battered the UK, and a storm surge caused the worst flooding since 1953.

1 December 2013, Sunday (+25,044) China launched the Chang�e 3 probe towards the moon, with the lunar rover Yutu.

====================================================================================

24 November 2013, Sunday (+25,037) Iran and the US reached a deal on Iran�s nuclear programme and sanctions on Iran.

21 November 2013, Thursday (+25,034) The Ukrainian Government moved closer to Russia, sparking popular protests.

8 November 2013, Friday (+25,021) Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. With winds of 160 mph, at least 2,300 were killed, 600,000 made homeless, and US$ 15 billion damage done.

======================================================================================

14 October 2013, Monday (+24,996) Syria became a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, prohibiting it from producing, stockpiling or using chemical weapons.

======================================================================================

27 September 2013, Friday (+24,979) The UN Security Council ordered Syria to account for and destroy its stocks of chemical weapons, following a surprise agreement between the USA and Russia, so averting US airstrikes. Use of force was threatened by the UN if Syria did not comply.

16 September 2013, Monday (+24,968) North Korea reopened the joint N-S industrial zone at Kaesong.

7 September 2013, Saturday (+24,959) China announced plans for a new Silk Road economic Belt, part of the Belt and Road initiative.

2 September 2013, Monday (+24,954) Ronald Coase, the economist who developed the theory of the firm, died aged 102. He was born in Willesden, north London, in 1910.

======================================================================================

31 August 2013, Saturday (+24,952) US President Obama desired to carry out punitive airstrikes against the Syrian government, but Congress did not support the idea.

21 August 2013, Wednesday (+24,942) Hundreds of people suffocated in rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital, with many suffering from convulsions, pinpoint pupils, and foaming at the mouth. U.N. investigators visited the sites and determined that ground-to-ground missiles loaded with sarin were fired on civilian areas while residents slept. The U.S. and others blamed the Syrian government, the only party to the conflict known to have sarin gas.

11 August 2013, Sunday (+24,932) Two magnitude 6.4 earthquakes hit Tabriz and Ahar, Iran, killing 153 people.

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22 July 2013, Monday (+22,912) The first child of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was born. He was named George Alexander Louis.

13 July 2013, Saturday (+24,903) Nadine Gordimer, South African activist, died.

3 July 2013, Wednesday (+24,893) After massive street protests across Egypt, President Morsi was deposed by the military; his regime accused of sending the country towards bankruptcy.

1 July 2013, Monday (+24,891) 100g instant coffee cost �2.67. A pint of milk cost 46p. 250g UK butter cost �1.42. 1.5kg self-raising flour cost �1.19. A dozen medium sized eggs cost �2.78. 2.5 kg of chicken cost �6.00. 1kg pork sausages cost �4.84. A 800g loaf of� bread cost �1.27. A small loaf of bread cost 47p. A McDonalds BigMac cost �2.59. 1kg carrots cost 91p, 1kg of dessert apples cost �2.02. A kilogram of sugar cost 95p. A pint of beer was �3.18. A pint of lager cost �2.87. A litre of petrol cost �1.34. A litre of diesel cost �1.41. The latest model of the Ford Focus car cost �13,995. A pack of 20 cigarettes cost �7.98. The average UK house price was �168,928. Average (new) UK house price was �247,000. Average detached house price was �305,391. Average annual wage was �26,000. UK weekly pension was $110.50 Gold was �1,051 per troy ounce. UK consumer debt stood at �1,426 billion.

===================================================================================

30 June 2013, Sunday (+24,890) A temperature of 54 C was recorded at Death Valley, USA.

5 June 2013, Wednesday (+24,865) In the Syrian civil war, the town of Qusayr was recaptured by pro-Assad forces.

===================================================================================

31 May 2013, Friday (+24,860) Turkish police burnt down a protestors camp in Gezi Park, Istanbul. The protests were against plans to redevelop the park, one of the few green spaces in the city, for commercial uses.

25 May 2013, Saturday (+24,854) A sixth night of rioting in the Swedish capital, Stockholm; many cars were burnt, mainly in poorer areas.

22 May 2013, Wednesday (+24,851) A soldier wearing a �Help for Heroes� T shirt, near Woolwich Barracks, SE London, was hacked to death in the street by two Africans who had converted to Islam. The perpetrators then waited for police to arrive and were shot but not fatally. Hate crimes in the UK against Islamic targets over the next two days amounted to 160, ten times the usual level.

16 May 2013, Thursday (+24,845) Richard Trickle, racing car driver, took his own life after suffering a long painful illness.

9 May 2013, Thursday (+24,838) ISIS was formed.

===================================================================================

25 April 2013, Thursday (+24,824) The UK reopened its embassy in Somalia, closed for 25 years.

24 April 2013, Wednesday (+24,823) A large garment factory in Rana Plaza in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1,129 people.

20 April 2013, Saturday (+24,819)

17 April 2013, Wednesday (+24,816) Same sex marriage was legalised in New Zealand.

16 April 2013, Tuesday (+24,815) Earthquake in Khash province, Iran, magnitude 7.8, killed 38.

15 April 2013, Monday (+24,814) The Boston Marathon race was hit by two bombs, killing 3 and injuring 284.

10 April 2013, Wednesday (+24,809)

9 April 2013, Tuesday (+24,808) Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit Iran, killing 37 people.

8 April 2013, Monday (+24,807) Mrs Thatcher the former Conservative PM died, aged 87.

7 April 2013, Sunday (+24,806) The Syrian government launched an air raid on rebels in Aleppo, killing 15 people.

5 April 2013, Friday (+24,804)

3 April 2013, Wednesday (+24,802) North Korea closed the joint N-S industrial zone at Kaesong.

2 April 2013, Tuesday (+24,801) (1) North Korea said it would restart its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

(2) Uruguay legalised same-sex marriages.

=====================================================================================

31 March 2013, Sunday (+24.799) Easter Sunday.

19 March 2013, Tuesday (+24,787) 26 Syrians, including a dozen Government soldiers, were killed in a gas attack on the town of Khan-al-Assal, northern Syria. A UN investigation found that sarin nerve gas had been used, but could not identify the source.

16 March 2013, Saturday (+24,784) To rescue its banks, Cyprus announced a plan that would confiscate some of the savings of its biggest depositors.

14 March 2013, Thursday (+24,702) Xi Jinping was named the new President of China.

13 March 2013, Wednesday (+24,781) The 286^th Pope was elected, he took the name Francis I.

12 March 2013, Tuesday (+24,780)

11 March 2013, Monday (+24,779) North Korea cut the phone line with the South, breaking the 1953 Armistice terms.

7 March 2013, Thursday (+24,775) The UN Security Council unanimously agreed to tighten sanctions on North Korea.

======================================================================================

28 February 2013, Thursday (+24,768) Pope Benedict XVI resigned, the first Pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first voluntary resignation since Celestine V in 1294.

22 February 2013, Friday (+24,762) The Credit Agency, Moodys, downgraded the UK�s rating from AAA to AA1.

16 February 2013, Saturday (+24,756) A bomb exploded at a marketplace in Quetta, Pakistan, killing over 80 people.

15 February 2013, Friday (+24,755) A large meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia; 1,491 were injured and over 4,000 buildings damaged.

14 February 2013, Thursday (+24,754) South African Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius was arrested after the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

12 February 2013, Tuesday (+24,752) N Korea conducted a 3^rd underground nuclear test, provoking fears of war with the USA.

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23 January 2013, Wednesday (+24,732) (Britain, European Union) In the UK, David Cameron, Conservative Party Leader, promised to hold a Referendum on Britain�s continued membership of the European Union if he won the next General Election.

18 January 2013, Friday (+24,727) Racing cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories. His titles were stripped from him.

13 January 2013, Sunday (+24,722) The Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced the discovery of horsemeat in four Tesco beef products.

11 January 2013, Friday (+24,720) The French army began operations against Islamic militants in northern Mali.

1 January 2013, Tuesday (+24,710)

====================================================================================

15 December 2012, Saturday (+24,693) The 14�3 km extension of orbital tram route T3 following the Boulevards des Mar�chaux ring road around the eastern side of Paris was opened for revenue service. This trebled the length of T3, which ran for 7�9 km across the south of Paris from Pont du Garigliano to Porte d�Ivry since 2006, and added 24 stops.

12 December 2012, Wednesday (+24,690) North Korea successfully launched a satellite using its Unha-3 rocket, see 13 April 2012.

5 December 2012, Wednesday (+24,683) A magnitude 5.8 earthquake in South Korea killed 6.

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29 November 2012, Thursday (+24,677) The United Nations granted Palestine non-member observer status.

24 November 2012, Saturday (+24,672) A fire at a clothing factory in Bangladesh killed 112 people.

14 November 2012, Wednesday (+24,662) Protests in Greece, Portugal and Spain against European austerity measures.

11 November 2012, Sunday (+24,659) A magnitude 6.8 earthquake killed 12 people in Myanmar.

10 November 2012, Saturday (+24,658) Barack Obama was confirmed as Presidential winner in the USA, defeating challenger Mitt Romney.

7 November 2012, Wednesday (+24,655) (1) Voters in Maryland, Maine and Washington approved same sex marriages.

(2) Magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Guatemala killed 48 people.

1 November 2012, Thursday (+24,649) (Space) NASA detected the light from the very first stars to exist in the Universe.

======================================================================================

29 October 2012, Monday (+24,646) Hurricane Sandy, a Category 3 storm, hit the east coast of the USA after devastating thye Caribbean. Overall it killed 133 people.

27 October 2012, Saturday (+24,644) Large protests in Madrid against austerity cuts.

23 October 2012, Tuesday (+24,640)

15 October 2012, Monday (+24,632) The price of a 800g loaf of white bread was �1.26.

9 October 2012, Tuesday (+24,626) The Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head whilst travelling home on a school bus, for insisting that girls had a right to education. She survived, continued campaigning, and in 2014 became the youngest person to date to receive the Nobel prize.

======================================================================================

18 September 2012, Sunday (+24,609) Santiago Jos� Carrillo Solares, Spanish Communist Party politician, died.

17 September 2012, Saturday (+24,608) Occupy Wall Street protests began in the USA.

11 September 2012, Tuesday (+24,598) (1) Over a million people peacefully protested on the streets of Barcelona on Catalonia�s National Day, demanding independence from Spain. This demonstration was to become an annual event.

(2) Islamists attacked the US diplomatic compound in� Benghazi, Libya. The US Ambassador and three other US diplomats were killed.

7 September 2012, Friday (+24,594) Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran, over Iran�s support for Syrian Government nuclear plans and human rights abuses.

3 September 2012, Monday (+24,590) Hong-Kong based National Electric Vehicle Sweden bought bankrupt Saab, in order to sell electric vehicles under this brand name.

1 September 2012, Saturday (+24,588) Islamist rebels captured the town of Douentza in Mali.

=====================================================================================

26 August 2012, Sunday (+24,582) Neil Armstrong died.

25 August 2012, Saturday (+24,581) Voyager I became the first man-made object to leave the solar system.

20 August 2012, Monday (+24,576) US President Obama strongly cautioned the Syrian Government against any use of chemical weapons.

17 August 2012, Friday (+24,573) Moscow banned any Gay Pride events for the next 100 years.

16 August 2012, Thursday (+24,572) (1) Striking mineworkers were fired upon by police at Marikana, South Africa. 34 miners were killed.

(2) Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks,� was officially given political asylum by Ecuador.

6 August 2012, Monday (+24,562) Curiosity, the US space probe, successfully landed on Mars.

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27 July 2012, Friday (+24,552) The Summer Olympics began in London; they finished on 12 August 2012.

20 July 2012, Friday (+24,545) James Eagan Holmes, 25, entered a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, USAA, where the film Batman was showing and shot dead 12 people, injuring another b58l. Holmes told police he was the �Joker�. There was pressure on IUS President Obama to tighten gun laws.

19 July 2012, Thursday (+24,544) Groups opposed to the regime of Syria�s leader, Bashar al Assad, attacked the city of Aleppo. Aleppo became divided into a pro-regime west and a pro-rebel east.

18 July 2012, Wednesday (+24,543) Kim Jong Un was officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea.

17 July 2012, Tuesday (+24,542) In Libya, the General National Congress came to power. However it could not maintain stability on the country.

7 July 2012, Saturday (+24,532) Libya held its first post Gadhafi elections; the country was still politically unstable.

5 July 2012, Thursday (+24,530) The Shard in London was opened. The tallest building in Europe, it is 309.6 metres, 1,016 feet, high.

4 July 2012, Wednesday (+24,529) The Higgs Boson was discovered at CERN.

1 July 2012, Sunday (+24,526) A large loaf of white bread cost �1.20� A lb of back bacon cost �4.04.� A pint of milk cost 46p.� A lb of butter cost �2.82. A lb of potatoes cost 67p.� A lb of oranges cost �1.24.� A quarter lb loose tea cost �1.94� A pint of beer cost �2.79.� 20 king-size cigarettes cost �7.09.� A sack of house coal cost �16.89. The average UK house price was �163,628. A litre of petrol cost �1.35.

=====================================================================================

24 June 2012, Sunday (+24,519) (1) Three Chinese astronauts successfully docked with an orbiting module, making Chine the 3^rd country to accomplish this mission.

(2) Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood became President of Egypt.

======================================================================================

29 May 2012, Tuesday (+24,493) A magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed 24 people near Bologna, Italy.

10 May 2012, Thursday (+24,474) Racing car driver Carroll Shelby died this day.

2 May 2012, Wednesday (+24,466) In New York, a pastel version of Edward Munch�s The Scream sold for US$ 120 million at auction, a record sum for a work of art.

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13 April 2012, Friday (+24,447) North Korea launched a satellite, which exploded soon after take-off. The USA condemned the move. The rocket used was the Unha-3, which could theoretically carry a nuclear missile to the mainland USA. See 12 December 2012.

11 April 2012, Wednesday (+24,445) A magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia.

8 April 2012, Sunday (+24,442) Easter Sunday.

6 April 2012, Friday (+24,440) Islamic militants unilaterally declared the secession of northern Mali as the republic of Azawad. Europe feared a new area of Jihadism in the Sahara.

======================================================================================

13 March 2012, Tuesday (+24,416) The Encyclopaedia Britannica discontinued its print edition, now being online-only, after 244 years.

7 March 2012, Wednesday (+24,410) (International, morals) The UN presented its report on violations of the human rights of gay people worldwide. Representatives of several African and Arab States walked out.

4 March 2012, Sunday (+24,407) Vladimir Putin was elected for a third Presidential term (now six years).

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29 February 2012, Wednesday (+24,403) North Korea agreed to stop enriching uranium and testing missiles.

28 February 2012, Tuesday (+24,402) Occupy Wall Street protestors were evicted from the front of St Pauls, London.

27 February 2012, Monday (+24,401) Protests in Yemen connected with the Arab Spring forced the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

26 February 2012, Sunday (+24,400) The Artist became the first silent film to win an Oscar since 1927.

21 February 2012, Tuesday (+24,395) A second bailout of Euro 130 billion was agreed for Greece.

11 February 2012, Saturday (+24,385) Whitney Houston, pop star, died.

9 February 2012, Thursday (+24,383) Iran suspended oil exports to Britain and France in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the EU in January 2012.

6 February 2012, Monday (+24,380) A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the Philippines, killing 43 people.

======================================================================================

23 January 2012, Monday (+24,366) The EU imposed sanctions on Iran because of continued Iranian enrichment of uranium.

22 January 2012, Sunday (+24,365) The head of the Transitional Council of Liberation in Libya resigned in protest over the slow pace of improvements in Libya.

13 January 2012, Friday (+24,356) The Costa Concordia cruise liner was wrecked off the coast of Italy; 32 people died.

1 January 2012, Sunday (+24,344) (South America, EU) The Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy seceded from Guadeloupe; thereby leaving the European Union.

======================================================================================

17 December 2011, Saturday (+24,329) Kim Jong Il, leader of North Korea died. His youngest son, Kim Jong Un, succeeded him.

14 December 2011, Wednesday (+24,326) The 2012 US National Defence Bill was not vetoed by President Obama, which meant that Guantanamo Bay would remain open as a detention facility.

7 December 2011, Wednesday (+24,319) Kandahar, Afghanistan, surrendered to US forces; the Taliban fled.

====================================================================================

26 November 2011, Saturday (+24,308) The US launched its probe Curiosity towards Mars.

23 November 2011, Wednesday (+24,305) Kunduz, Afghanistan, surrendered to US forces without a fight.

20 November 2011, Sunday (+24,302) Ferrari designer Sergio Scagletti died aged 91.

16 November 2011, Wednesday (+24,298) Fighting between US troops and the Taliban began near Kandahar.

14 November 2011, Monday (+24,296) US troops captured Kabul.

11 November 2011, Friday (+24,293) US troops defeated the Taliban at Taloqan.

10 November 2011, Thursday (+24,292) US troops defeated the Taliban, Afghanistan, at Mazar-e-Sharif.

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31 October 2011, Monday (+24,282) (1) UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member; 107 members were in support, and 14 opposed.

(2) The global population officially reached 7 billion.

27 October 2011, Thursday (+24,278) An emergency meeting in Brussels concerning the Greek Debt Crisis.� A writedown of 50% of Greek bonds was agreed, recapitalisation of European banks, and an increase in the bailout fund of the European Financial Stability facility.

23 October 2011, Sunday (+24,274) A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit the city of Van, eastern Turkey.

20 October 2011, Thursday (+24,271) (1) Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in Sirte, as National Transitional Council forces took control of the country.

(2) Basque separatist militant organisation ETA declared an end to its 43-year campaign of political violence, which had killed over 800 people since 1968.

19 October 2011, Wednesday (+24,270) US troops raided Kandahar, Afghanistan.

15 October 2011, Saturday (+24,266) The price of a 800g loaf of white bread was �1.19.

9 October 2011, Sunday (+24,260) In Egypt, 24 protestors were killed and 200 injured in a crackdown by security forces.

5 October 2011, Wednesday (+24,256) Steve Jobs of Apple died.

===================================================================================

5 September 2011, Monday (+24,226) India and Bangladesh signed a pact to end their 40-year border dispute.

===================================================================================

23 August 2011, Tuesday (+24,213)� A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Virginia on August 23, 2011, near Mineral. The earthquake was reportedly felt as far away as Toronto, Canada, Atlanta, Georgia and Florida.

20 August 2011, Saturday (+24,210) In Libya, Arab Spring rebels began to take over the capital, Tripoli.

18 August 2011, Thursday (+24,208) US President Barack Obama called on Syria�s President Assad to resign, and froze Syrian assets in the US.

5 August 2011, Friday (+24,195) The Juno space probe was launched towards Jupiter.

======================================================================================

31 July 2011, Sunday (+24,190) In Syria, an army raid on the town of Hama killed over 120. So far the Syrian civil war had claimed 3,000 lives.

23 July 2011, Saturday (+24,182) Singer Amy Winehouse died, aged 27.

22 July 2011, Friday (+24,181) Anders Behring Brevik shot 77 people on Utoya Island as a protest against immigration to Norway.

21 July 2011, Thursday (+24,180) The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Centre, concluding the Space Shuttle Programme.

15 July 2011, Friday (+24,174)

10 July 2011, Sunday (+24,169) In Britain, the News of the World published its last edition, forced to close by a phone-tapping scandal and consequent withdrawal of advertising.

9 July 2011, Saturday (+24,168) The new country of South Sudan officially seceded from Sudan, following a pro-independence referendum in January 2011.

8 July 2011, Friday (+24,167) After making 134 missions, the space shuttle Atlantis made the final space shuttle fight.

7 July 2011, Thursday (+24,166) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, 8^th �film adaptation of the JK Rowling book series, premiered.

1 July 2011, Friday (+24,160) 1.5 kg of self raising flour cost �1.29, +40% on 2010.� 1 kg back bacon cost �9.05, +9.2% on 2010.� 1kg topside beef cost �9.52, +4.96% on 2010.� 100g instant coffee cost �2.66, +18.2% on 2010.� One Iceberg lettuce cost 89p, +9.9% on 2010.� One litre of vodka cost �18.45, +11.7% on 2010.� 250g of butter cost �1.60,+12.9% on 2010. The average UK house price was �165,131. A litre of petrol cost �1.35.

In 2011 Britain had 527,579 nurses (1939 = 223,120). In 2011 Britain had 124,177 farmers (1939 = 668,554). In 2011 Britain had 3,483,528 teachers (1939 = 205,932). In 2011 Britain had 457,700 hairdressers and barbers (1939 = 104,512). In 2011 Britain had 176,402 bar staff (1939 = 42,636). In 2011 Britain had 14,627 tailors (1939 = 165,473).

====================================================================================

21 June 2011, Tuesday (24,150)

12 June 2011, Sunday (+24,141) Thousands of Syrians fled into Turkey to escape the civil war.

4 June 2011, Saturday (+24,133) Puyehue Volcano in Chile erupted, causing major flight chaos as far as Australia.

3 June 2011, Friday (+24,132) (1) Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh fled the country.

(2) The US Treasury completed an agreement to sell the last of its holdings in Chrysler to Fiat.

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26 May 2011, Thursday (+24,124) Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic was arrested in Serbia, for crimes of genocide.

16 May 2011, Monday (+24,114) The European Union agreed to a Euro 78 billion rescue deal for Portugal.

14 May 2011, Saturday (+24,112) Pakistan officially condemned the US raid in which Osama Bin Laden was killed.

7 May 2011, Saturday (+24,105) �Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides�, directed by Rob Marshall, starring Johnny Depp and Pen�lope Cruz, premiered. The opening weekend made US$350.6m

5 May 2011, Thursday (+24,103) Claude Schoules, the last known combat veteran of World War One, died in Australia, aged 110.

1 May 2011, Sunday (+24,099) The US announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed in an military operation in Pakistan.

===================================================================================

30 April 2011, Saturday (+24,098) NATO strikes in Libya killed Gadhafi�s youngest son.

29 April 2011, Friday (+24,097) Prince William married Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, to become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 2 billion people around the world watched the ceremony on TV.

28 April 2011, Thursday (+24,096) Heavy storms across the US killed over 300 people.

24 April 2011, Sunday (+24,092) Easter Sunday.

13 April 2011, Wednesday (+24,081) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was arrested, along with his sons, in Cairo.

11 April 2011, Monday (+24,079) Laurent Gbagbo, former President of the Cote D�Ivoire, was captured.

6 April 2011, Wednesday (+24,074) Portugal asked for a bailout from the EU.

4 April 2011, Monday (+24,072) In the US, Barack Obama announced his intention to stand for re-election for a second term.

1 April 2011, Friday (+24,069) Large protests by Syrian civilians against their Government after Friday prayers.

=====================================================================================

23 March 2011, Monday (+24,060) Elizabeth Taylor, UK born Hollywood actress, died aged 79 (born 1932).

21 March 2011, Monday (+24,058) British MPs voted 557 to 13 in favour of airstrikes against Gaddafi.

19 March 2011, Saturday (+24,056) Arab Spring: civil war continued in Libya. NATO intervened to help the rebels.

18 March 2011, Friday (+24,055) Further protests in Deraa over the detention by security forces of a group of boys accused of painting anti-government graffiti on the walls of their school. Earlier, on 15 March 2011, protests against the boys� detention had taken place in Damascus. On 18 March 2011 Syrian government forces opened fire in Deraa, killing four people. These are regarded as the first deaths in the Syrian civil war.

17 March 2011, Thursday (+24,054) The UN Security Council authorised a no-fly zone over Libya. This effectively authorised French and UK airstrikes against Gadhafi.

16 March 2011, Wednesday (+24,053)

15 March 2011, Tuesday (+24,052) Arab Spring: state of emergency in Bahrain.

14 March 2011, Monday (+24,051) Fears of a meltdown at Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan.

12 March 2011, Saturday (+25,049)

11 March 2011, Friday (+24,048), Japan was hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami.� 15,340 people were killed, and a further 3,926 were missing.� The nuclear plant at Fukushima was badly damaged.

10 March 2011, Thursday (+24,047) Saudi police opened fire on protestors.

6 March 2011, Sunday (+24,043) Unrest in Deraa, Syria.

=====================================================================================

25 February 2011, Friday (+24,034) Arab Spring protests in Jordan.

22 February 2011, Tuesday (+24,031) (1) Arab Spring protests in Algeria.

(2) Christchurch, New Zealand, was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake; 185 people died.

20 February 2011, Sunday (+24,029) Arab Spring protests in Morocco and Iraq. Meanwhile over 200 people were killed during protests in Benghazi, Libya.

18 February 2011, Friday (+24,027) Police opened fire on protestors in Bahrain.

15 February 2011, Tuesday (+24,024) Arab Spring protests in Libya.

14 February 2011, Monday (+24,023) Arab Spring protests in Bahrain and Jordan, also Benghazi in Libya.

13 February 2011, Sunday (+24,022) Women across Italy protested against Berlusconi.

12 February 2011, Saturday (+24,021) Clashes between demonstrators and police in Algiers.

11 February 2011, Friday �(+24,020) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned after widespread protests against him, leaving Egypt governed by the military. This was during the �Arab Spring�.

7 February 2011, Monday (+24,016)

4 February 2011, Friday (+24,013) Large crowds gathered in Cairo calling for the resignation of President Mubarak.

3 February 2011, Thursday (+24,012) Arab Spring protests in Yemen.

====================================================================================

30 January 2011, Sunday (+24,008)

25 January 2011, Tuesday (+24,003) Arab Spring protests in Egypt and Lebanon,

24 January 2011, Monday (+24,002) Islamist terrorists from the north Caucasus blew themselves up in the International Arrivals Hall of Domodedovo Airport, Moscow, killing dozens of people.

14 January 2011, Friday (+23,992) In the turmoil of the Arab Spring, the Tunisian Government fell after a month of protests.

9 January 2011, Sunday (+23,987) A referendum in Sudan resulted in a mandate for the independence of Southern Sudan.

7 January 2011, Friday (+23,985) US President Barack Obama signed the 2011 Defence Authorisation Bill, which provided for the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

4 January 2011, Tuesday (+23,982) Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi died after setting fire to himself on 17 December 2010. This sparked anti-government protests in Tunisia and other Arab nations, which became known as the Arab Spring.

1 January 2011, Saturday (+23,979) (1) Estonia became the 17^th country to adopt the Euro currency.

(2) 23 were killed and 70 injured in a bomb attack on a church in Alexandria, Egypt.

====================================================================================

1712/2010, Friday (+23,964) The Arab Spring began when a Tunisian graduate set fire to himself in protest at police who stopped him trading without a permit, after he had failed to secure paid employment.

12 December 2010, Sunday (+23,959) Tom Walkinshaw, British racing car driver, died aged 64.

=====================================================================================

29 November 2010, Monday (+23,946) The EU agreed to a Euro 85 billion bail out for Ireland.

28 November 2010, Sunday (+23,945) Wikileaks released over 250,000 American diplomatic cables, of which 100,000 which were �secret� or �confidential�.

25 November 2010, Thursday (+23,942)

23 November 2010, Tuesday (+23,940) North Korea shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.

22 November 2010, Monday (+23,939) 347 people died in a stampede at the Khymer Water Festival, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

21 November 2010, Sunday (+23,938) Ireland asked for a bailout from the EU.

20 November 2010, Saturday (+23,937)

19 November 2010, Friday (+23,936) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, 7^th film adaptation of the JK Rowling book series, premiered.

17 November 2010, Wednesday (+23,934) Scientists at the CERN Large Hadron Collider announced they had trapped anti-matter for the first time in human history.

16 November 2010, Tuesday (+23,933) Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement, eight years after meeting at Edinburgh University.

15 November 2010, Monday (+23,932)

13 November 2010, Saturday (+23,930) Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest which she had been under for 15 of the previous 21 years. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, a year after winning elections which were nullified by the ruling junta.

8 November 2010, Tuesday (+23,925) Queen Elizabeth II joined Facebook. By late 2015 her page had over 2.2 million �likes�.

====================================================================================

31 October 2010, Sunday (+23,917) A 1964 Aston Martin formerly owned by Sir Paul McCartney sold at auction for UK� 344,400.

28 October 2010, Thursday (+23,914) The Spanish Constitutional Court struck out parts of a 2906 Charter on Catalan autonomy which increased the territory�s fiscal and judicial powers, and described it as a �nation�. The Court ruled that the word �nation� had no meaning and rejected the preferential use of Catalan over Spanish in municipal services. Two weeks later hundreds of thousands protested on the streets of Barcelona, chanting �We are a nation; we decide�.

26 October 2010, Tuesday (+23,912) Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia began erupting.

25 October 2010, Monday (+23,911) Earthquake off Sumatra killed 400 and caused a tsunami.

19 October 2010, Tuesday (+23,905)

15 October 2010, Friday (+23,901) The price of a 800g loaf of white bread was �1.20.

14 October 2010, Thursday (+23,900) French-American mathematician who developed fractal geometry, Benoit Mandelbrot, died aged 85.

13 October 2010, Wednesday (+23,899) 33 Chilean miners were� rescued, having spent 69 days underground at San Jose mine.

10 October 2010, Sunday (+23,896) The Netherlands Antilles was dissolved; each island was given a new constitutional status.

4 October 2010, Monday (+23,890) Death of Norman Wisdom, British comedian, aged 95.

===================================================================================

29 September 2010, Wednesday (+23,885) US film star Tony Curtis died aged 85.

23 September 2010, Thursday (+23,879) The world�s biggest windfarm was inaugurated off the UK coast at Thanet, Kent.

19 September 2010, Sunday (+23,875) The BP oil well, Deepwater Horizon, was capped after spilling millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

16 September 2010, Thursday (+23,872) Pope Benedict XVI commenced the first Papal visit to Britain since King Henry VIII split with Rome.

4 September 2010, Saturday (+23,860) Magnitude 7/.1 earthquake near Christchurch, New Zealand.

===================================================================================

10 August 2010, Tuesday (+23,835) The World Health Organisation declared the H1N1 influenza pandemic officially over.

3 August 2010, Tuesday (+23,828) US President Obama announced the end of official combat operations in Iraq.

====================================================================================

25 July 2010, Sunday (+23,819) Wikileaks released 90,000 covert and classified documents relating to the US occupation of Afghanistan, 2004-2010.

24 July 2010, Saturday (+23,818) Northern Irish snooker champion Alex �Hurricane� Higgins died aged 61.

1 July 2010, Thursday (+23,795), 1.5 kg of self raising flour cost �0.92. 1 kg back bacon cost �8.29.� 1kg topside beef cost �9.07.� 100g instant coffee cost �2.25.� One Iceberg lettuce cost 81p.� One litre of vodka cost �16.52.� 250g of butter cost �1.42.� �The average UK house price was �165,483.

=====================================================================================

9 June 2010, Wednesday (+23,773) Ethnic conflict in Kyrgyzstan between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks

======================================================================================

31 May 2010, Monday (+23,764) 9 activists died when Israeli naval forces raided a flotilla of ships attempting to break the Gaza blockade.

29 May 2010, Saturday (+23,762) US actor Dennis Hopper died aged 74.

20 May 2010, Thursday (+23,753) Craig Venter announced the creation of the world�s first synthetic organism.

7 May 2010, Friday (+23,740) UK General Election; Conservative leader David Cameron formed a coalition with the Liberals.

2 May 2010, Sunday (+23,735) The EU and the IMF agreed a Euro 110 billion bailout for Greece; Greece would adopt austerity measures.

=====================================================================================

20 April 2010, Tuesday (+23,723) The Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 workers. Major oil pollution ensued.

14 April 2010, Wednesday (+23,717) Mount Eyjafjallajokul in Iceland erupted; volcanic ash caused major disruption to European air travel.

13 April 2010, Tuesday (+23.716) A 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Qinghai, China, killed over 2,000.

10 April 2010, Saturday (+23,713) Polish President Lech Walesa and other senior government officials were killed in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia. They were travelling to Russia to mark the 70^th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. Russia blamed pilot error; Poland blamed poor pilot advice from Russian air traffic control.

4 April 2010, Sunday (+23,707) Easter Sunday.

3 April 2010, Saturday (+23,706) (Computing) Apple released the first iPad tablet device.

1 April 2010, Thursday (+23,704) Major rioting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, caused President Bakiyev to flee.

======================================================================================

26 March 2010, Friday (+23,698) North Korea was blamed for the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel, killing 46 of the 104 aboard.

17 March 2010, Wednesday (+23,689) (1) Kraft Foods said it was "truly sorry" over its closure of Cadbury's Somerdale Factory. Senior Kraft executive Marc Firestone made the public apology to MPs at a parliamentary select committee hearing.

(2) LTI, the last motor manufacturing plant in Coventry since 2008, announced that it would be shifting production of its taxi cab body and chassis to China, but still shipping them to Coventry for the final assembly.

3 March 2010, Wednesday (+23,675) Former British Labour Party leader and writer Michael Foot died, aged 96.

======================================================================================

27 February 2010, Saturday (+23,671) A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Chile, killing 525.

18 February 2010, Thursday (+23,662) The President of Niger was overthrown in a military coup.

======================================================================================

27 January 2010, Wednesday (+23,640) (1) J D Salinger, reclusive author of �Catcher in the Rye�, died aged 91.

(2) The first criminal trial without a jury for 400 years opened in London.

19 January 2010, Tuesday (+23,632) Cadbury approved a revised offer from Kraft, valuing the confectionery business at $19.5 billion (�11.5 billion).

12 January 2010, Tuesday (+23,625) (Haiti, Earthquake) A 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the most severe in 200 years, hit Haiti, killing over 316,000 and destroying the capital, Port au Prince. Over 1,000,000 were left homeless.

10 January 2010, Sunday (+23,623) Deaths from a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe now amounted to 4,293, with 98,741 cases reported.

3 January 2010, Sunday (+23,616) The UK and USA closed their embassies in Yemen due to threats of civilian unrest and Al Qaeda activity.

1 January 2010, Friday (+23,614)

====================================================================================

16 December 2009, Wednesday (+23,598) Astronomers reported the discovery of an exoplanet where liquid water might exist.

7 December 2009, Monday (+23,589) Silverstone was awarded a 17-year contract to host the British Grand Prix, starting from 2010.

4 December 2009, Friday (+23,586) The UK�s Ministry of Defence closed its special unit for monitoring UFO sightings, which had operated for over 50 years.

===================================================================================

27 November 2009, Friday (+23,579) Dubai requested a debt restructuring following from heavy investment in building projects; the announcement caused shares to fall worldwide.

=====================================================================================

28 October 2009, Wednesday (+23,549) UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon stated that Jerusalem must be the capital both of Israel and a Palestinian State if peace were to be achieved in the region.

15 October 2009, Thursday (+23,536) The price of a 800g loaf of white bread was �1.21.

2 October 2009, Friday (+23,523) The 2016 Olympics were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.

======================================================================================

29 September 2009, Tuesday (+23,520) An 8.3 magnitude earthquake hit Samoa.

28 September 2009, Monday (+23,519) Line Four of the Beijing Metro, 28.2 km long, opened.

14 September 2009, Monday (+23,505) The UN adopted the principles of �Responsibility to Protect� or R2P. This says that the sovereignty of States is not absolute in that the UN can choose to intervene when a state fails to protect its citizens from mass atrocities and human rights violations.

=====================================================================================

25 August 2009, Tuesday (+23,485) Veteran US Senator Edward Kennedy died.

3 August 2009, Monday (+23,463) Bolivia became the first country in South America to grant self-government to its indigenous peoples.

===================================================================================

25 July 2009, Saturday (+23,454) The last British veteran of the Western Front in World War One, Harry Patch, died aged 111. A week earlier the oldest veteran, Henry Allingham, had died aged 113.

21 July 2009, Tuesday (+23,450)

16 July 2009, Thursday (+23,445) Iceland�s Parliament voted to begin negotiations to join the European Union.

15 July 2009, Wednesday (+23,444) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 6^th film adaptation of the JK Rowling book series, premiered.

1 July 2009, Wednesday (+23,430) The average UK house price was �156,513.

====================================================================================

25 June 2009, Thursday (+23,424) The American entertainer Michael Jackson died (born 29 August 1958).

21 June 2009, Sunday (+23,420) Greenland took steps towards further separation from Denmark; it took control of police, law enforcement, the legal system and natural resources.

18 June 2009, Thursday (+23,417) The US Moon probe LCross was launched, It discovered water on the Moon.

11 June 2009, Thursday (+23,410) The influenza strain H1N1 sparked fears of a global flu pandemic.

1 June 2009, Monday (+23,400) Air France flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 288 on board.

====================================================================================

25 May 2009, Monday (+23,393) North Korea announced that it had conducted a successful underground nuclear test; America condemned the move.

18 May 2009, Monday (+23,386) The Sri Lankan civil war ended, after over 25 years, with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers. 80,000 people had died in the war.

=====================================================================================

28 April 2009, Tuesday (+23,366) The Mexican Government confirmed an outbreak of Swine Flu in humans.

27 April 2009, Monday (+23,365) General Motors discontinued the Pontiac brand, due to the economic downturn.

21 April 2009, Tuesday (+23,359)

12 April 2009, Sunday (+23,350) Easter Sunday.

11 April 2009, Saturday (+23,349) Civil unrest in Thailand; state of emergency declared.

9 April 2009, Thursday (+23,347)

6 April 2009, Monday (+23,344) Magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit L�Aquila, Italy. 300 were killed and 1,500 injured.

5 April 2009, Sunday (+23,343) North Korea fired a rocket, ostensibly to carry a satellite. The UN held an emergency session, but took no action.

1 April 2009, Wednesday (+23,339) Albania and Croatia were admitted to NATO.

=====================================================================================

23 March 2009, Monday (+23,330) Tata Motors launched its US$ 2,000 Nano car in Mumbai

15 March 2009, Sunday (+23,322) The Bank of England cut rates to a record low of 0.5%; it also announced �75 billion of quantitative easing.

=====================================================================================

28 February 2009, Saturday (+23,307) Former Serbian President Milan Milosevic was acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribune for the Former Yugoslavia.

11 February 2009, Wednesday (+23,290) Morgan Tsvangirai became the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe under a power-sharing agreement with President Mugabe, signed in September 2008.

10 February 2009, Tuesday (+23,289) A Russian and an American satellite collided, creating large amounts of space debris.

7 February 2009, Saturday (+23,286) Severe bush fires hit Australia, killing 173, injuring 500, rendering 7,500 homeless. Temperatures had reached a record 46.4 C.

====================================================================================

22 January 2009, Thursday (+23,270) US President Barack Obama attempted to close down Guantanamo Bay.

21 January 2009, Wednesday (+23,269) Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Air strikes by both sides continued.

19 January 2009, Monday (+23,267)

15 January 2009, Thursday (+23,263) The �Miracle on the Hudson� occurred when US Airline flight 1549 hit birds just after takeoff from New York. Both the plane�s engines were knocked out and with insufficient height to glide to any airstrip the pilot Captain Sullenberger put the aeroplane down flawlessly on the River Hudson. All 155 passengers and crew survived.

14 January 2009, Wednesday (+23,262) The US admitted torturing Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed al Qahtani, under the Bush administration.

7 January 2009, Wednesday (+23,255) In a dispute over energy prices, Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe.

3 January 2009, Saturday (+23,251) Israel invaded the Gaza Strip, as Hamas fired rockets into Israel.

1 January 2009, Thursday (+23,249) Slovakia adopted the Euro, replacing the Koruna.

====================================================================================

27 December 2008, Saturday (+23,244) Israel mounted military strikes against the Gaza Strip.

23 December 2008, Tuesday (23.240)

12 December 2008, Friday (+23,229) Switzerland became the 25^th country to join the Schengen Agreement, eliminating cross-border checks.

11 December 2008, Thursday (+23,228) Bernard Madoff was arrested in the US on charges of running a huge Ponzi scheme.

9 December 2008, Tuesday (+23,226) Scientists confirmed the existence of a Black Hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

6 December 2008, Saturday (+23,223) Rioting in Greece after Greek police shot a 15 year old in the head, killing him.

===================================================================================

27 November 2008, Thursday (+23,214) The ocean liner QE2 was taken out of service, to become a floating hotel in the UAE.

26 November 2008, Wednesday (+23,213) Pakistani Islamic terrorists struck at several targets in Mumbai, India, taking visitors at the Taj Mahal luxury hotel hostage.� Indian forces stormed the terrorists in the hotel. 183 people were killed and over 300 injured.

25 November 2008, Tuesday (+23,212) Greenland held a referendum on further autonomy from Denmark, with a result 75% in favour.

24 November 2008, Monday (+23,211)

19 November 2008, Wednesday (+23,206) Germany extradited Rose Kabuye to France, where she faced charges over the killing of a former Rwandan President, Juvenal Habyarimana.� This incident sparked the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

18 November 2008, Tuesday (+23,205) Heads of the big three US car manufacturers asked the US government for assistance during the ongoing Credit Crunch.� They said their companies were important as job providers.

15 November 2008, Saturday (+23,202) Somali pirates hijacked a Saudi oil supertanker off the Somali coast.

5 November 2008, Wednesday (+23,192) On Russian television, President Dmitry Medvedev spoke against NATO missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic.� Medvedev threatened to put Russian missiles in the enclave of Kaliningrad and install radio scramblers to foil NATO�s missile defence system.

4 November 2008, Tuesday (-23,191) Barack Hussein Obama was elected first African-American President (Democrat) of the USA, the 44^th President.

======================================================================================

29 October 2008, Wednesday (+23,185) A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Quetta, Pakistan.

22 October 2008, Wednesday (+23,178) India launched its probe Chandrayaan 1 towards the Moon.

15 October 2008, Wednesday (+23,171) The price of a 800g loaf of white bread was �1.26.

13 October 2008, Monday (+23,169) The UK Government bailed out the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS, using billions of pounds of taxpayers� money.

6 October 2008, Monday (+23,162) A magnitude 6.6 earthquake killed 65 in Kyrgzystan.

1 October 2008, Wednesday (+23,157) (Britain, Economy) The French power company EdF acquired British Energy plc, which operated 8 of Britain�s 10 nuclear power stations.

====================================================================================

28 September 2008, Sunday (+23,154) Space X launched the first private satellite, Falcon I, into orbit.

24 September 2008, Wednesday (+23,150) A litre of milk cost 70p.� A loaf of bread cost �1.22.� A year�s TV licence cost �139.50. A Big Mac cost �2.09.� The NHS prescription charge was �7.10.� A first class stamp cost 36p.� A litre of unleaded petrol cost �1.12.� A pint of beer cost �2.82.� A can of Heinz baked beans cost 52p.� A couple�s pension was �145.05.� Child Benefit was �18.10 a week.

15 September 2008, Monday (+23,141) (1) As the global Credit Crunch took hold, Lehman Brothers, the 4^th largest US investment bank, collapsed.

(2) In Zimbabwe, negotiations resulted in a power-sharing agreement between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara; Tsvangirai to be the new Prime Minister.

5 September 2008, Friday (+23,131) For the first time in recorded history, both the North West Passage and the North East Passage are clear of Arctic sea ice.

2 September 2008, Tuesday (+23,128) (1) EU leaders began a mediation initiative with Russia over Georgia.

(2) Unrest continued in Bangkok; Prime Minister Sundaravej declared a State of Emergency.

=====================================================================================

29 August 2008, Friday (+23,124) Georgia cut all diplomatic relations with Russia and increased links to the USA.

28 August 2008, Thursday (+23,123) Phil Hill, US racing car driver, died aged 81.

27 August 2008, Wednesday (+23,122) David Milliband, from the UK, visited Kiev to reinforce the Ukrainian ambitions to align itself with the West.

26 August 2008, Tuesday (+33,121)

25 August 2008, Monday (+23,120) Both Russian Houses of Parliament voted to recognise as independent states the breakaway regions of Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

24 August 2008, Sunday (+23,119) The Beijing Olympics closed.

23 August 2008, Saturday (+23,118)

16 August 2008, Saturday (+23,111) The dog racing track at Walthamstow, London, held its last meeting.

15 August 2008, Friday (+23,110) The Russian military expressed anger at a US-Polish agreement to set up missile defences on Polish territory.� The US said it was against rogue states like Iran. The Russians said it was against them and one general said it made Poland a target for a nuclear strike.

12 August 2008, Tuesday (+23,107)

9 August 2008, Saturday (+23,104) Russian ships sailed from Ukrainian ports to mount a blockade of the Georgian coast.

8 August 2008, Friday (+23,103) (1) Russian forces backed South Ossetian fighters who were seeking secession from Georgia. 130,000 Georgians fled South Ossetia.

(2) The Beijing Olympics opened. They continued until 24 August 2008.

7 August 2008, Thursday (+23,102) Intense fighting erupted between Georgia and Russia.� Russia backed the territory of South Ossetia, a Muslim area that had broken away from Georgia after Georgia declared independence as the USSR broke up.� The USA backed Georgia.

3 August 2008, Sunday (+23,098) Alexander Solzhenitsyn died, aged 90.

===================================================================================

21 July 2008, Monday (+23,085) Radovan Karadic, Serbian leader during the break-up of Yugoslavia, wanted for war crimes against the Bosnians, was captured and sent to The Hague for trial.

20 July 2008, Sunday (+23,084) Roger Wolcott Hall, US author, died (born 20 May 1919).

14/7 2008, Monday (+23,078) In the midst of the Credit Crunch, the Spanish bank Santander bought the troubled UK bank Alliance and Leicester.

1 July 2008, Tuesday (+23,065) The average UK house price was �168,973.

====================================================================================

14 June 2008, Saturday (+23,048) A 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Iwate, Japan, killed 12 and injured 400.

12 June 2008, Thursday (+23,046) Irish voters rejected the new European Constitution in a referendum.

1 June 2008, Sunday (+23,035) Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, introduced a ban on drinking alcohol on the London Underground.

====================================================================================

25 May 2008, Sunday (+23,028) NASA successfully landed a probe on the north polar regions of Mars.

12 May 2008, Monday (+23,015) A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Sichuan Province, central China, killing 156,000 people, and injuring 290,000.� 5 million were made homeless.

2 May 2008, Friday (+23,005) Hurricane Nargis hit southern Burma, killing over 84,000 people, and leaving 56,000 missing.

====================================================================================

26 April 2008, Saturday (+22,999) Police arrested Josef Fritzl in Amstetten, Austria, after he held women and children for years in a dungeon below his home. He was jailed for life in March 2009.

7 April 2008, Monday (+22,980) The six-month-long official inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed in a car crash in a Paris road tunnel ended.� The inquest had cost �10 million, and concluded that Henri Paul, the driver, was drunk and crashed into a pillar whilst trying to avoid the paparazzi.

====================================================================================

27 March 2008, Thursday (+22,969) The new British Airways Terminal Five at London Heathrow opened.� The baggage system collapsed and many flights were delayed, cancelled, or left without baggage.

26 March 2008, Wednesday (+22,968) Ford completed the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Tata for US$ 2.3 billion. Tata was on a diversification drive and would not make any major changes. The 16,000 employees involved would not be affected.

25 March 2008, Tuesday (+22,967)

24 March 2008, Monday (+22,966) Bhutan held its first-ever general elections.

23 March 2008, Sunday (+22,965) Easter Sunday

18 March 2008, Tuesday (+22,960) Sir Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer, died aged 90.

14 March 2008, Friday (+22,956) In the midst of the Credit Crunch, investment bank Bear Sterns was bought by rival JP Morgan for US$ 236 million (UK� 155 million).

12 March 2008, Wednesday (+22,954) Lazare Ponticelli, the last surviving French foot soldier of World War One, died aged 110.� Born in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, he loved France and joined the French Foreign legion aged 16.� When Italy joined the war he was enlisted in the Italian army but returned to France after the war and became a French citizen in 1939.

2 March 2008, Sunday (+22,944) Dmitry Medvedev was elected President of Russia. Putin was constitutionally barred from standing for a third term.

====================================================================================

29 February 2008, Friday (+22,942) After Hamas fired rockets into Israel, Israeli troops began a 22-day assault against Gaza.

22 February 2008, Friday (+22,935) The Northern Rock Building Society had to be taken into State control due to the subprime mortgage lending crisis.

18 February 2008, Monday (+22,931) (1) Fidel Castro, aged 81, announced he was resigning as President of Cuba after 49 years in post. His brother Raul Castro was selected to succeed him.

(2) The UK Parliament passed an emergency Bill allowing the nationalisation of Northern Rock

17 February 2008, Sunday (+22,930) Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.� The EU and NATO backed Kosovo, but Russia opposed it.

13 February 2008, Wednesday (+22,926) The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd (born 1957) apologised to the Aborigines, especially the �stolen generation;, those Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their parents to be brought up with White parents in an attempt at assimilation.

5 February 2008, Tuesday (+22,918) Tornadoes killed 57 people in the southern USA.

2 February 2008, Saturday (+22,915) Rebels attacked N�Djamena, capital of Chad.

====================================================================================

24 January 2008, Thursday (+22,906) The French bank, Societe General, revealed that a rogue trader, Jerome Kerviel (born 11 January 1977), had cost it 4.9 billion Euros (about US$ 7 billion, or UK� 3.7 billion). Kerviel was arrested on charges of breach of trust and falsifying documents, and the bank was fined 4 million Euros for failing to monitor his trading position. Daniel Bouton resigned as the banks chief executive. Kerviel was found guilty in October 2010 and sentenced to prison, but remained free pending an appeal. On 24 October 2012, a Paris appeals court upheld the October 2010 sentence to three years in prison with another two suspended, and ordered to reimburse 4.9bn euros to Societe General for its loss.

23 January 2008, Wednesday (+22,905) Palestinian militants blew up the border wall between Egypt and Gaza at Rafah; thousands of Palestinians fled into Egypt.

22 January 2008, Tuesday (+22,904) Australian actor Heath Ledger died aged 28.

17 January 2008, Thursday (+22,899) Bobby Fisher, American world chess champion, died aged 64.

2 January 2008, Wednesday (+22,884) The price of crude oil passed US$ 100 a barrel for the first time ever.

1 January 2008, Tuesday (+22,883) Cyprus and Malta adopted the Euro.

===================================================================================

27 December 2007, Thursday (+22,878) The moderate Pakistani politician, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated whilst participating in an opposition rally against the hard-line ruler, President Pervez Musharraf.

24 December 2007, Monday (+22,875) Nepal announced that the country�s 240-year old monarchy was to be replaced by a Republic in 2008.

21 December 2007, Friday (+22,872) Queen Elizabeth II became the oldest reigning monarch in British history.

9 December 2007, Sunday (+22,860) Brazilian racing driver Rafael Sperafico was killed in a� car crash in Sao Paulo

8 December 2007, Saturday (+22,859) Construction work began on Line L2 of the Beijing Metro, running 23 km from the southern terminus of Line Five. Trains began running in December 2010.

====================================================================================

14 November 2007, Wednesday (+22,835) A magnitude 8.2 earthquake hit Tocopilla, northern Chile.

10 November 2007, Saturday (+22,831) US author Norman Mailer died aged 81.

=====================================================================================

24 October 2007, Wednesday (+22,814) China launched its first space probe, Chang�e 1, towards the Moon.

18 October 2007, Thursday (+22,808) After 8 years in exile, Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan. The same night, suicide attackers blow themselves up near Bhutto's convoy, killing over 100, including 20 police officers. Bhutto escaped uninjured.

15 October 2007, Monday (+22,805) The price of a 800g loaf of white bread was 91p.

======================================================================================

14 September 2007, Friday (+22,774) Japan launched its Kaguya probe towards the Moon

13 September 2007, Thursday (+22,773) In the UK, Northern Rock bank sought emergency funds from the Bank of England due to liquidity problems, precipitating a run on the bank.

12 September 2007, Wednesday (+22,772) A magnitude 8.4 earthquake hit Sumatra, Indonesia, killing 9.

10 September 2007, Monday (+22,770) Anita Roddick, environmental campaigner, died (born 23 October 1942). She founded the Body Shop chain in 1976, which was sold to L�Oreal 30 years later for �625 million.

6 September 2007, Thursday (+22,766) Israeli warplanes struck a suspected nuclear site in Syria.

5 September 2007, Wednesday (+22,765) Luciano Pavarotti, singer, died aged 71.

====================================================================================

15 August 2007, Wednesday (+22,744) A magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit Peru, killing 512 and injuring over 1,500.

9 August 2007, Thursday (+22,738) The French bank, Paribas, halted withdrawals from three of its funds due to �complete evaporation of liquidity. The Credit Crunch had begun.

5 August 2007, Sunday (+22,734) Ian Paisley, Democratic Union Party, was sworn as First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Martin McGuinness., Sinn Fein, was his Deputy.

3 August 2007, Friday (+22,732) Heavy rain in the India region caused flooding that displaced 20 million people.

2 August 2007, Thursday (+22,731) Russia asserted its claims to the Arctic by planting a flag on the seabed 4,200 metres down at the North Pole.

1 August 2007, Wednesday (+22,730) In the USA, 13� motorists died when a road bridge over the River Mississippi collapsed during the rush hour in Minneapolis. 50 cars plunged 20 metres into the river. An investigation found that steel plates holding up the bridges were too thin to bear the weight of the bridge and cars.

======================================================================================

31 July 2007, Tuesday (+22,729) The UN passed Resolution 1769, authorising more UN peacekeepers to be deployed in Darfur, Sudan.

30 July 2007, Monday (+22,728) Film directors Michelangelo Antonioni (94) and Ingmar Bergman (89) both died this day.

29 July 2007, Sunday (+22,727) EastEnders actor Mike Reid died (born 19 January 1940)

24 July 2007, Tuesday (+22,722) In the Balkans, temperatures reached 43 C in Serbia, 44 C in Bulgaria and 45 C in Bosnia and Macedonia, the hottest for 120 years; 500 heat-related deaths were reported in Hungary.

22 July 2007, Sunday (+22,720) Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected President of Turkey. There were concerns that his Islamic sympathies might threaten the secularism of Turkey.

21 July 2007, Saturday (+22,719) Pratibha Patel was elected India�s first female President.

20 July 2007, Friday (+22,718) Heavy rain in the UK caused floods in the Midlands and southwest.

16 July 2007, Monday (+22,714) A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Niigata, japan, killing 5 and starting a fire at a nuclear power plant.

11 July 2007, Wednesday (+22,709) Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix, 5^th film adaptation of the JK Rowling book series, premiered.

7 July 2007, Saturday (+22,705) A series of Live Earth concerts were held around the world to raise awareness of climate change.

5 July 2007, Thursday (+22,703) George Melly, jazz musician, died (born 17 August 1926).

1 July 2007, Sunday (+22,699) The average UK house price was �181,364.

=====================================================================================

29 June 2007, Friday (+22,697) Apple launched the iPhone,

28 June 2007, Thursday (+22,696) Greece had its worst heatwave for more than a century, 11 people died of heatstroke.

27 June 2007, Wednesday (+22,695) In the UK, Gordon Brown became Labour Prime Minister as Tony Blair resigned from the Commons.

26 June 2007, Tuesday (+22,694) The UN declared the Galapagos Islands an endangered heritage site.

18 June 2007, Monday (+22,686) Bernard Manning, comedian, died (born 13 August 1930)

14 June 2007, Thursday (+22,682) Kurt Waldheim, President of Austria from 1985, also UN Secretary General 1972-82, died (born 21 December 1918).

5 June 2007, Tuesday (+22,673) (Russia, Sport) Russia was chosen to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, at Sochi.

4 June 2007, Monday (+22,672) At The Hague, the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, former Liberian President, began.

======================================================================================

19 May 2007, Saturday (+22,656) (1) �Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End�, directed by Gore Verbinksi, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom premiered in Anaheim. It was the most expensive film (US$300 million) made to date.

(2) In London, the new Wembley Stadium was officially opened.

16 May 2007, Wednesday (+22,653) Sarkozy was sworn in as President of France.

11 May 2007, Friday (+22,648) Gordon Brown announced his bid to be Labour Leader. On 25 June 2007 his succession was agreed unchallenged at a Labour Party Conference in Manchester. In a contest for the post of Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman won the final round.

10 May 2007, Thursday (+22,647) In the UK, former Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his retirement a week after Labour did badly in the elections.

7 May 2007, Monday (+22,644) Isabella Blow, fashion magazine editor, died (born 19 November 1958)

3 May 2007, Thursday (+22,640) Madelaine McCann, 3 years old, was abducted from the tourist resort of Praia de Luz, Portugal.

======================================================================================

28 April 2007, Saturday (+22,635) A magnitude 4.3 earthquake hit Folkestone, Kent, damaging around 200 houses.

27 April 2007, Sunday (+22,634) Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist, died (born 27 March 1927).

23 April 2007, Monday (+22,630) Russian leader Boris Yeltsin died aged 76.

16 April 2007, Monday (+22,623) Student Cho Seung Hui went on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University, killing 32 staff and students. Cho then shot himself.

12 April 2007, Thursday (+22,619) Writer Kurt Vonnegut died aged 84.

8 April 2007, Sunday (+22,615) Easter Sunday.

5 April 2007, Thursday (+22,612)

3 April 2007, Tuesday (+22,610) A French TGV train set a new speed record of 356 mph / 573 kph.

2 April 2007, Monday (+22,609) An 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Solomon Islands.� 52 died and 6,000 were left homeless.

1 April 2007, Sunday (+22,608) In the UK, the TV licence fee rose from �131.50 to �135.50.

======================================================================================

26 March 2007, Monday (+22,602) Northern Ireland�s two opposing political parties, Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists signed a power-sharing agreement after talks at Stormont involving Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley.

14 March 2007, Wednesday (+22,590) Avengers actor Gareth Hunt died aged 65.

11 March 2007, Sunday (+22,587) Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested as he held a political rally.

8 March 2007, Thursday (+22,584) John Inman, actor in Are You being Served, died (born 28 June 1935).

6 March 2007, Tuesday (+22,582) A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit Sumatra, killing over 70 people.

======================================================================================

13 February 2007, Tuesday (+22,561) North Korea agreed to close its nuclear facility at Yongbyon by 14 April 2007 in return for energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.

8 February 2007, Thursday (+22,556) England was covered by the heaviest snowfall for 11 years.

=====================================================================================

17 January 2007, Wednesday (+22,534) Protests in the UK and India after, on the Big Brother Reality Show, Jade Goody was allegedly racist to Shilpa Shetty.

16 January 2007, Tuesday (+22,533) A UN Human Rights official stated that 34,452 Iraqi civilians had been killed during 2006, a figure nearly three times higher than previous estimates.

15 January 2007, Monday (+22,532) The average UK house price was �186,954, up 605% on 1983.

11 January 2007, Thursday (+22,528) US President Bush announced he would send a further 21.500 troops to Iraq.

7 January 2007, Sunday (+22,524) Magnus Magnusson, author, died (born 12 October 1927).

4 January 2007, Thursday (+22,521) Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as first female speaker of the US House of Representatives.

1 January 2007, Monday (+22,518) Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union.

=====================================================================================

31 December 2006, Sunday (+22,517) The 3,000^th US soldier was killed in Iraq.

30 December 2006, Saturday (+22,516)� (1) Saddam Hussein was hanged for crimes against humanity.

(2) The Basque Nationalist group ETA detonated a bomb at Madrid-Barajas Airport, ending a 9-month ceasefire.

29 December 2006, Friday (+22,515) Maria del Carmen Bousada Lara, 67, gave birth to twins in a Barcelona hospital, becoming the world�s oldest mother.

28 December 2006, Thursday (+22,514) Nationwide stated that the average price of a UK house had risen by 10.6% over the year to �174,000.

27 December 2006, Wednesday (+22,513) Former US President Gerald Ford died aged 93.

26 December 2006, Tuesday (+22,512) Southwestern Taiwan was shaken by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

25 December 2006, Monday (+22,511) Soul singer James Brown died aged 73.

24 December 2006, Sunday (+22,510) Comedian Charlie Drake died aged 81.

23 December 2006, Saturday (+22,509) Charlie Drake, comedian and actor, died (born 19 June 1925)

22 December 2006, Friday (+22,508)

21 December 2006, Thursday (+22,507) Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan, died.

20 December 2006, Wednesday (+22,506) Mick Mulligan, trumpeter and bandleader, died (born 24 January 1928)

19 December 2006, Tuesday (+22,505) Arthur �Scobie� Breasley, horse racing champion, died (born 7 May 1914)

17 December 2006, Sunday (+22,503)

15 December 2006, Friday (+22,501) Clashes in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas after Fatah was accused of trying to murder PM Ismail Haniya.

14 December 2006, Thursday (+22,499) Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, died (born 31 July 1923)

12 December 2006, Tuesday (+22,498) Lord Mowbray, Segrave and Stourton, died (born 11 March 1923)

10 December 2006, Sunday (+22,496) General Pinochet, former dictator of Chile (born 1915) died.

9 December 2006, Saturday (+22,495) Georgia Gibbs (Freda Lipschitz), singer, died (born 26 August 1919)

8 December 2006, Friday (+22,494) Martha Tilton, singer, died (born 14 November 1915)

7 December 2006, Thursday (+22,493) A tornado lasting under a minute ripped through Kensal Green, NW London, damaging 150 homes and injuring 6 people.

6 December 2006, Wednesday (+22,492)

5 December 2006, Tuesday (+22,491) The Prime Minister of Fiji, Laisenia Qarase, fled to the remote Lau Islands after a military coup by Commodore Frank Bainimarama. This was the 4^th coup in Fiji since 1987.

4 December 2006, Monday (+22,490) Hugo Chavez was re-elected as President of Venezuela in a landslide victory.

1 December 2006, Friday (+22,487)

====================================================================================

29 November 2006, Wednesday (+22,485) Allen Carr, British anti-smoking campaigner, died (born 2 September 1934).

28 November 2006, Tuesday (+22,484) Pope Benedict XVI began a visit to Turkey He expressed support for their bid to join the EU, but also spoke of the need to respect freedom of worship, an oblique reference to the freedom of Christian worship there.

27 November 2006, Monday (+22,483) Alan Freeman, radio DJ, died (born 6 July 1927)

26 November 2006, Sunday (+22,482) Graham Roope, cricketer, died (born 12 July 1946)

25 November 2006, Saturday (+22,481) Valentin Elizalde, Mexican singer, died (born 1979)

24 November 2006, Friday (+22,480) Mr Litvinenko's family released a statement, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his death.

23 November 2006, Thursday (+22,479) Russian dissident and former KGB bodyguard Alexander Litvinenko died a slow and painful death in a London hospital after drinking tea laced with Polonium 210. He fell out with Vladimir Putin in the late 1990s when they worked together in the Russian security forces. Britain suspected former KGB agent Andrei Luovoi of administering �the poison and demanded his extradition form Russia. The denial of this extradition led to the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Britain.

22 November 2006, Wednesday (+22,478) Lord John Peyton of Yeovil, UK politician, died (born 3 February 1919)

21 November 2006, Tuesday (+22,477) The Kremlin dismissed as 'sheer nonsense' claims that the Russian government was involved in the poisoning of Litvinenko.

20 November 2006, Monday (+22,476) Robert Altman, film director, died (born 20 February 1925).

19 November 2006, Sunday (+22,475) Muslim women in New York City aimed to start a Koran Council to interpret strict sharia law

18 November 2006, Saturday (+22,474) UK PM Gordon Brown made his first visit to Iraq.

17 November 2006, Friday (-22,473) Litvinenko�s condition deteriorated and he was transferred to University College Hospital in central London.

16 November 2006, Thursday (+22,472) Joseph Kabila won partially-free elections, remained as leader for a second 5-year term. There was unrest as the result was disputed.

13 November 2006, Monday (+22,469)

10 November 2006, Friday (-22,466) Jack Williamson, science fiction writer, died (born 29 April 1908)

9 November 2006, Thursday (+22,465) Ed Bradley, US journalist, died (born 22 June 1941)

7 November 2006, Tuesday (+22,463) Vietnam, nominally still one of the world�s last 5 Communist countries (the other 4 being China, Cuba, Laos and North Korea) was accepted into the World Trade Organisation, as its capitalist economy boomed.

5 November 2006, Sunday (+22,461) Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by the Iraqi Special Tribunal. He was hanged on 30 December 2006.

4 November 2006, Saturday (+22,460) In London, 22,000 participated in a march to highlight the risks of climate change.

3 November 2006, Friday (+22,459)

1 November 2006, Wednesday (+22,457) Mr Litvinenko met Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun at the Millennium hotel in London's Mayfair. Mr Litvinenko was admitted to a hospital in north London several hours later, complaining of feeling sick.

====================================================================================

31 October 2006, Tuesday (+22,456) PW Botha, former President of South Africa, died aged 90.

30 October 2006, Monday (+22,455)

29 October 2006, Sunday (+22,454) Nigel Kneale, writer, died (born 18 April 1922)

28 October 2006, Saturday (+22,453) Trevor Berbick, boxer, died (born 1 August 1954)

27 October 2006, Friday (+22,452) BMW car designer Albrecht Graf Goertz, who designed the 503 and 507 models, died aged 92.

26 October 2006, Thursday (+22,451) Hank Shaw, trumpeter, died (born 23 June 1926)

25 October 2006, Wednesday (+22,450) Emilio Vedova, Italian artist, died (born 9 August 1919)

23 October 2006, Monday (+22,448) A referendum in Panama endorsed widening the Canal to allow the largest ships to pass.

21 October 2006, Saturday (+22,446) John Symonds, novelist, died (born 12 March 1914)

20 October 2006, Friday (+22,445) Corus announced that it had accepted a �4.3 billion offer from Tata Steel.

19 October 2006, Thursday (+22,444) Phyllis Kirk, actress, died (born 18 September 1927).

17 October 2006, Tuesday (+22,442) Ursula Moray Williams, children�s writer, died (born 19 April 1911)

16 October 2006, Monday (+22,441) 100 died in Sri Lanka when the Tamil Tigers hit a military convoy with a truck bomb.

15 October 2006, Sunday (+22,440) The price of a 800g loaf of white bread was 83p.

14 October 2006, Saturday (+22,439) Freddy Fender (Baldemar Garza Huerta), country singer, died (born 4 June 1937)

12 October 2006, Thursday (+22,437) Gillo Pontecorvo, film director, died (born 19 November 1919)

9 October 2006, Monday (+22,434) North Korea claimed to have conducted its first ever nuclear test explosion.

8 October 2006,

7 October 2006, Saturday (+22,432) Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her Moscow apartment on October 7. Mr Litvinenko began to investigate her murder.

6 October 2006, Friday (+22,431) In the UK, Jack Straw MP was accused of racism after reports that he asked Muslim women to remove their veils at his surgery.

5 October 2006, Thursday (+22,430) Jennifer Moss, English actress died (born 1945).

4/10.2006, Wednesday (+22,429) An entire brigade of Iraqi police were removed from duty in Baghdad after allegations they were involved with sectarian killings.

3 October 2006, Tuesday (+22,428) The USSR imposed sanctions on Georgia after the arrest of 4 alleged Russian spies in Tbilisi on 2 October 2006; the men had already been released.

2 October 2006, Monday (+22,427) In� the USA, 26 year old gunman Charles Carl Roberts burst into an Amish school in Pennsylvania and killed several girls, before shooting himself dead.

1 October 2006, Sunday (+22,426) 8 died and 60 were injured in a gun battle between factions in Gaza. The fight began over unpaid Government wages.

=====================================================================================

30 September 2006, Saturday (+22,425) Plane crash in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, killed all 155 passengers.

29 September 2006, Friday (+22,424) The HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took its first low-orbit, high-resolution pictures of Mars

28 September 2006, Thursday (+22,423) The UK�s Chief Inspector of Prisons released a damning report on Pentonville Prison, describing it as �overrun with cockroaches�.

27 September 2006, Wednesday (+22,422) A hostage situation at Platte Canyon High School near Bailey, Colorado, United States ended with the death of the gunman.

26 September 2006, Tuesday (+22,421) The accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU on 1 January 2007 was formally approved.

23 September 2006, Saturday (+22,418) Car bomb in Baghdad killed 53.

20 September 2006, Wednesday (+22,415) General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, head of the new military administration in Thailand, stated that martial rule would last a year in the country whilst a new constitution was written. Ousted |prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra flew to Britain, under threat of prosecution if he ever returned to Thailand.

19 September 2006, Tuesday (+22,414) Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand declared a State of Emergency as the Thai Army staged a military coup.

17 September 2006, Sunday (+22,412) Patricia Lawford Kennedy, younger sister of President Kennedy, died (born 6 May 1924)

15 September 2006, Friday (+22,410) The Right Reverend David Say, Bishop of Rochester, died (born 4 October 1914).

14 September 2006, Thursday (+22,409) Mickey Hargitay, actor, died (born 6 January 1926)

13 September 2006, Wednesday (+22,408) Ann Richards, Governor of Texas, died (born 1 September 1933)

12 September 2006, Tuesday (+22,407)

11 September 2006, Monday (+22,406) Joachim Fest, historical writer, died (born 8 December 1926)

10 September 2006, Sunday (+22,405) King Taufa�ahau Tupou IV died, and was succeeded by Prince Tupouto. There was rioting over lack of democracy.

4 September 2006, Monday (+22,399) In Australia, Steve Irvin, famous on UK TV as Crocodile Dundee, died whilst being filmed snorkelling off Queensland from a stingray barb to his heart.

2 September 2006, Saturday (+22,397) Charlie Williams, comedian, died (born 23 December 1926)

1 September 2006, Friday (+22,396) Bob Mathias, decathlete, died (born 17 November 1930)

======================================================================================

31 August 2006, Thursday (+22,395) Two stolen masterpieces by Edvard Munch, including his best known work, The Scream, were recovered in Norway.

30 August 2006, Wednesday (+22,394) Naguib Mahfouz, novelist, died (died 11 December 1911)

29 August 2006, Tuesday (+22,393)

27 August 2006, Sunday (+22,391) David Nicholson, jockey and trainer, died (born 19 March 1939)

26 August 2006, Saturday (+22,390) Vladimir Tretchkoff, artist, died (born 13 December 1913)

25 August 2006, Friday (+22,389) The Office for National Statistics announced that in June 2005 the population of the UK had reached 60 million

24 August 2006, Thursday (+22,388) (Astronomy) Pluto was officially demoted from �planet� to �dwarf planet� by the International Astronomical Union,

23 August 2006, Wednesday (+22,387) Maynard Ferguson, trumpeter, died (born 24 May 1928)

22 August 2006, Tuesday (+22,386) Sandra Blow, abstract painter, died (born 14 September 1925)

21 August 2006, Monday (+22,385) Bismillah Khan, musician, was born.

18 August 2006, Friday (+22,382)

15 August 2006, Tuesday (+22,379) Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, Queen of the Maori people, was died (born 23 July 1931)

14 August 2006, Monday (+22,378) Israel accepted a UN-brokered ceasefire in the Lebanon conflict.

13 August 2006, Sunday (+22,377) Israeli troops mounted a ground offensive in Lebanon north towards the Litani River, reaching 30km north of the Israeli border.

11 August 2006, Friday (+22,375)

9 August 2006, Wednesday (+22,373) James van Allen, physicist who discovered radiation belts around the Earth, died (born 7 September 1914)

8 August 2006, Tuesday (+22,372) Melissa Hayden, ballerina, died (born 15 April 1923)

7 August 2006, Monday (+22,371)

6 August 2006, Sunday (+22,370) Violence continued to escalate between Israel and Lebanon, in defiance of a UN ceasefire resolution, Hezbollah rocket attacks killed 15 Israelis and Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed 19.

5 August 2006, Saturday (+22,369) Daniel Schmid, film director, died (born 26 December 1941)

4 August 2006, Friday (+22,368)

3 August 2006, Thursday (+22,367) Arthur Lee, rock musician, died (born 3 July 1945)

2 August 2006, Wednesday (+22,366) Hezbollah fired more rockets into Israel, killing 1 and injuring 123, after Israeli patrols penetrated as far as the town of Baalbek, in the Bekaa valley, Lebanon, killing 10 Hezbollah and capturing 5 ,more. One Hezbollah rocket reached 70km into Israel, the furthest so far.

1 August 2006, Tuesday (+22,365) (1) Israel stepped up ground operations in southern Lebanon. So far, since 12 July, some 624 to 750 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and some 54 Israelis, 18 of them civilians, had been killed.

(2) (Education � University) The University of Bedfordshire was formed, by the merger of the University of Luton and the Bedford campus of De Montfort University Leicester.

====================================================================================

30 July 2006, Sunday (+22,363) (1) Israel agreed to suspend air strikes on southern Lebanon for 48 hours. This followed international outrage after 54 civilians, including 37 children, had been killed in an Israeli air attack on Qana.

(2) Top of the Pops was broadcast for the last time.

28 July 2006, Friday (+22,361) Patrick Allen, actor, died (born 17 March 1927)

25 July 2006, Tuesday (+22,358) An Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon hit a UN observer post, killing 4 UN personnel.

24 July 2006, Monday (+22,357) US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visited Lebanon and then Israel to try and settle the current outbreak of violence. She called for peace and democracy in the Middle east, and for Hezbollah to withdraw in Lebanon to north of the Litani River, 20km north of the Israeli border .So far since the conflict began on 12 July 2006, 378 Lebanese and 41 Israelis had been killed.

21 July 2006, Friday (+22,354)

19 July 2006, Wednesday (+22,352) Lebanon suffered its worst day of violence since the Israeli bombardment began on 12 July 2006, with 61 killed in air strikes, all but one were civilians.

18 July 2006, Tuesday (+22,351) Jimmy Leadbetter, footballer, died (born 15 July 1928)

17 July 2006, Monday (+22,350) Frank Morison Spillane, author, died (born 9 March 1918)

16 July 2006, Sunday (+22,349) Hezbollah rockets killed 8 Israelis in Haifa, whilst in Lebanon Israeli air strikes killed 40 civilians, including 16 in the Lebanese port of Tyre.

15 July 2006, Saturday (+22,348) Twitter was launched.

14 July 2006, Friday (+22,347) Israel bombed Beirut Airport as it stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, partly in response to a Hezbollah ambush on an Israeli border patrol 2 days earlier in which 8 Israeli soldiers were killed and 2 taken captive. Hezbollah demanded as ransom the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert condemned this as �extortion�. Israel also blockaded :Lebanese ports. 50 Lebanese civilians were killed in the air attacks. On 15 July 2006 Hezbollah rockets hit Haifa, their most southerly strike to date, and in retaliation Israel fired missiles into districts of Beirut where Hezbollah operatives lived, having warned civilians there to evacuate.� Israel threatened to re-invade southern Lebanon, from where they had pulled out in 5/2000. However Israeli military leaders were reluctant to get bogged down in southern Lebanon again.

13 July 2006, Thursday (+22,346) Aaron Chwatt, actor, died (born 5 February 1919)

12 July 2006, Wednesday (+22,345) Hezbollah guerrillas ambushed an Israeli border patrol (see 14 July 2006), starting a new round of attacks by Israel on Lebanon.

11 July 2006, Tuesday (+22,344) (India) Bombs exploded in Mumbai railway station, India. 200 were killed. Pakistan was suspected.

10 July 2006, Monday (+22,341) Fighting started in Somalia between fighters aligned with defeated warlords and Islamic militants killing 60 people and wounding 100.

9 July 2006, Sunday (+22,342) Jose Ramos Horta was nominated as Prime Minister of Timor L�Este.

8 July 2006, Saturday (+22,341) Peter Hawkins, voice of the Flowerpot Men, died (born 3 April 1924)

7 July 2006, Friday (+22,340) In the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, UK, 62 year old Dr Patricia Rashbrook became Britain�s oldest mother, giving birth to a 6lb 10 oz son after IVF treatment.

6 July 2006, Thursday (+22,339) New York Court of Appeals ruled that gay marriage was not allowed under State law.

5 July 2006, Wednesday (+22,338) Kenneth Lay, former Chairman of Enron, died (born 15 March 1942)

4 July 2006, Tuesday (+22,337) The shuttle Discovery launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre, bound for the International Space Station with 7 astronauts aboard

3 July 2006, Monday (+22,336) 34 died and 20 were injured in a train accident on the Valencia Metro, Spain.

2 July 2006, Sunday (+22,335) One year on from the Live 8 concerts, U2 frontman Bono accused world leaders of not making good on their promises to Africa

1 July 2006, Saturday (+22,334) (Price) The average wage in the UK was �25,961. GPs got �70,100, or 270% of average.� Teachers got �33,280, or 128% of average.� Train drivers got �34,000, or 131% of average.� Factory workers got �22,464, or 86% of average. The average UK house price was �166,470.

=====================================================================================

30 June 2006, Friday (+22,333) Arthur Lewis, TV and theatre producer, died (born 15 September 1916)

29 June 2006, Thursday (+22,332) Fabian Bielinsky, Argentinian film director died (born 1959).

28 June 2006, Wednesday (+22,331) (Israel) Israel launched an offensive against the Gaza Strip.

27 June 2006, Tuesday (+22,330) Robert Carrier, celebrity chef, died (born 10 November 1923)

26 June 2006, Monday (+22,329) Mar� Alkatiri resigned as Prime Minister of East Timor after weeks of political unrest.

25 June 2006, Sunday (+22,328) Kenneth Griffith, actor, died (born 12 October 1921)

24 June 2006, Saturday (+22,327) �Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest�, directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, premieres at Disneyland. It became the fastest film to gross over 1 billion US$

23 June 2006, Friday (+22,326) Aaron Spelling, TV producer, died (born 22 April 1923)

21 February 2006, Wednesday (+22,324)

20 June 2006, Tuesday (+22,323) Charles Smith, lead guitarist in Kool and the Gang, died (born 6 September 1848)

19 June 2006, Monday (+22,322) (Environment) On Spitzbergen, construction work began on a vault to preserve seeds for future generations in the event of a catastrophe such as nuclear war.

18 June 2006, Sunday (-22,321) Vincent Sherman, film director, died (born 16 July 1906)

15 June 2006, Thursday (+22,318)

13 June 2006, Tuesday (+22,316) (Ireland) Charles Haughey, Prime Minister of Ireland, died.

12 June 2006, Monday (+22,315) Andrew William Barr, WW2 British fighter pilot, died (born 10 December 1915)

10 June 2006, Saturday (+22,313) Kenneth Jack, artist, died (born 5 October 1924).

8 June 2006, Thursday (+22,311) Sir Peter Smithers, UK Conservative politician, died (born 9/ December 1913)

5 June 2006, Monday (+22,308) Billy Preston, musician, died (born 9 September 1946)

3 June 2006, Saturday (+22,306) (Yugoslavia) Montenegro declared independence from Serbia.

====================================================================================

31 May 2006, Wednesday (+22,303) Raymond Davis, astrophysicist (solar neutrinos), died (born 14 October 1914).

30 May 2006, Tuesday (+22,302) Shohei Imamura, Japanese film director, died (born 15 September 1926)

28 May 2006, Sunday (+22,300)

27 May 2006, Saturday (+22,299) (Earthquake) A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit central Java, killing over 6,000, injuring 36,000 and leaving 1.5 million homeless.

26 May 2006, Friday (+22,298) Ted Schroeder, tennis player, died (born 20 July 1921)

25 May 2006, Thursday (+22,297) The UK Government announced that the pension age would rise, from 65 to 66 in 2024, and to 68 in 2044.

24 May 2006, Wednesday (+22,296) Eric Bedser, cricketer, died (born 4 July 1918)

23 May 2006, Tuesday (+22,295) Ian Copeland, impresario and booking agent, died (born 25 April 1949)

22 May 2006, Monday (+22,294) Jack Fallon, pioneer of modern jazz, died (born 13 October 1915)

21 May 2006, Sunday (+22,293) The new Iraqi Government held its first cabinet meeting as suicide bombings in Baghdad continued. The new Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki, promised to use �maximum force against terrorism�.

20 May 2006, Saturday (+22,292) (China) The Three Gorges Dam in China was completed, the world�s largest hydro-electric dam.

19 May 2006, Friday (+22,291) Freddie Garrity, pop singer, died (born 14 November 1936)

17 May 2006, Wednesday (+22,289)

15 May 2006, Monday (+22,287) George Crile, US journalist, died (born 5 March 1945)

14 May 2006, Sunday (+22,286) Eva Norvind, can-can dancer, died (born 7 May 1944)

13 May 2006, Saturday (+22,285) Johnnie Wilder, lead singer in pop group Heatwave, died

12 May 2006, Friday (+22,284)

11 May 2006, Thursday (+22,283) Floyd Patterson, boxer, died (born 4 January 1935)

10 May 2006, Wednesday (+22,282) Alexander Zinoviev, Soviet dissident, died (born 29 October 1922)

9 May 2006, Tuesday (+22,281) Two Australian miners, Todd Russell and Brian Webb, were rescued after being trapped underground for 14 days at a goldmine at Beaconsfield, Australia.

3 May 2006, Wednesday (+22,275) Karel Appel, artist, died (born 25 April 1921)

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30 April 2006, Sunday (+22,272) Jay Bernstein, Hollywood publicist, died (born 7 June 1937)

29 April 2006, Saturday (+22,271) Jean-Francois Revel, philosopher, died (born 19 January 1924)

26 April 2006, Wednesday (+22,268) (USA) Construction of the Freedom Tower in New York began. It was on the site of the Twin Towers destroyed in the 9-11 attacks in 2001.

24 April 2006, Monday (+22,266) King Gyanendra of Nepal restored Parliamentary Government, ending weeks of protests. Gyanendra had seized absolute power in 1/2005.

23 April 2006, Sunday (+22,265) William Gottlieb, photographer, died (born 28 January 1917).

22 April 2006, Saturday (+22,264) Alida Valli, actress, died (born 3 May 1921)

21 April 2006, Friday (+22,263) Tele Santana, Brazilian football coach, died (born 26 July 1931)

20 April 2006, Thursday (+22,262) Stanley Hiller Jr, who helped develop the helicopter, died (born 13 November 1924)

19 April 2006, Wednesday (+22,261) John Lyall, football manager, died (born 24 February 1940)

18 April 2006, Tuesday (+22,260) Ken Jones, rugby player, died (born 30 December 1921)

16 April 2006, Sunday (+22,258) Easter Sunday. Romano Prodi, Centre-Left coalition, was confirmed as winner of the Italian elections, defeating his rival Silvio Berlusconi by just 25,000 votes.

13 April 2006, Thursday (+22,255) Gyaltsen Norbu was confirmed as the11th Panchen Lama, at a ceremony of 1,000 Buddhist monks and nuns in Hangzhou, China. The 16-year-old had been selected for this role 10 years earlier, and is known as the �Chinese Panchen�, to distinguish him from the Panchen previously chosen by the exiled Dalai Lama and kept in a secret safe location.

12 April 2006, Wednesday (+22,254) Walter Pearson, world poker champion 1973, died (born 29 January 1929)

11 April 2006, Tuesday (+22,253) Iran�s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced that his country has �joined the club of nuclear countries�.

9 April 2006, Sunday (+22,251) Vigot Sjoman, Swedish film director, died (born 2 December 1924)

7 April 2006, Friday (+22,249) Helen Barbara Kruger, clothes designer, died (born 29 July 1913)

5 April 2006, Wednesday (+22,247) Avian flu was confirmed to have reached Britain when a mute swan was found dead of the highly pathogenic H5 strain near St Andrews, Scotland. A 1,000 square mile exclusion zone was imposed, with poultry farmers told to keep their flocks indoors at all times.

4 April 2006, Tuesday (+22,246) France equalised the permissible age of marriage between males and females. Formerly, the Civil Code of 1804 had set this age as 15 for females and 18 for males.

2 April 2006, Sunday (+22,244) Countess von Stauffenberg, widow of the officer who tried to assassinate Hitler, died (born 27 August 1913).

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28 March 2006, Tuesday (+22,239) Caspar Weinberger, US Secretary of Defence, died (born 18 August 1917)

27 March 2006, Monday (+22,238) Stanislaw Lem, author, died (born 12 September 1921)

26 March 2006, Sunday (+22,237)

25 March 2006, Saturday (+22,236) Richard Fleischer, US film director, died (born 8 December 21916)

24 March 2006, Friday (+22,235) Lynne Perrie (Jean Dudley), actress, died (born 7 April 1931)

23 March 2006, Thursday (+22,234)

22 March 2006, Wednesday (+22,233) The Basque terrorist group ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in Spain.

21 March 2006, Tuesday (+22,232) Margaret Ewing, Scottish Nationalist politician, died (born 1 September 1945)

18 March 2006, Saturday (+22,229) Channing Pollock, magician, died (born 16 August 1926)

16 March 2006, Thursday (+22,227) Moira Redmond, actress, died (born 14 July 1928)

13 March 2006, Monday (+22,224) Ivy Wallace, author, died (born 7 October 1915).

11 March 2006, Saturday (+22,222) Former President Milosevic died, see 13 February 2002.

10 March 2006, Friday (+22,221) John Profumo, British politician, died.

9 March 2006, Thursday (+22,220) The US military announced it would close the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, where there had been mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.

8 March 2006, Wednesday (+22,219)

7 March 2006, Tuesday (-22,218) John Junkin, actor, died (born 29 January 1930)

6 March 2006, Monday (+22,217) Dana Reeve, actress, died (born 19 February 1961)

5 March 2006, Sunday (+22,216)

3 March 2006, Friday (+22,214) Ivor Cutler, poet, died (born 15 January 1923)

1 March 2006, Wednesday (+22,212) Peter Osgood, footballer, died.

====================================================================================

28 February 2006, Tuesday (+22,211) Professor Owen Chamberlain, physicist who discovered the anti-proton, died (born 10 July 1920)

27 February 2006, Monday (+22,210)

26 February 2006, Sunday (+22,209) Sir Hans Singer, economics writer, died (born 29 November 1910).

25 February 2006, Saturday (+22,208) The global population officially reached 6.5 billion.

24 February 2006, Friday (+22,207) Dennis Weaver, actor, died.

22 February 2006, Wednesday (+22,205)

21 February 2006, Tuesday (+22,204) Angelica Rozeanu, table tennis player, died (born 15 October 1921)

20 February 2006, Monday (+22,203) British historian David Irving was sentenced to three years in prison by an Austrian court for Holocaust denial.

19 February 2006, Sunday (+22,202) The Rolling Stones held the world�s largest concert on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janiero, brazil. Over one million people attended.

17 February 2006, Friday (+22,200) Sybille Bedford, writer, died (born 16 March 1911).

15 February 2006, Wednesday (+22,198) Anna Marly, singer, died (born 30 October 1917)

13 February 2006, Monday (+22,196) Sir Peter Strawson, philosopher, died (born 23 November 1919)

11 February 2006, Saturday (+22,194) Peter Benchley, author of Jaws, died (born 8 May 1940)

10 February 2006, Thursday (+22,192) Bhaskar Bhattacharyya, film maker, died (born 4 June 1950)

9 February 2006, Thursday (+22,192) Freddie Laker, aviation entrepreneur, died.

8 February 2006, Wednesday (-22,191) Akira Ifukube, composer, died (born 31 May 1914)

7 February 2006, Tuesday (+22,190) In Britain, Abu Hamza, radical Muslim