Today in History - January 1
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45CE
Jan 1, BC The Julian calendar took effect.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1431 Jan 1, Rodrigo Borgia Lanzol
(d.1503), member of the Borgia family, was born in Xativa, Spain. His
mother was the sister of Pope Calixtus III. He was elected Pope
Alexander VI in 1492 and amassed a fortune by pocketing church funds.
His reign helped inspire the Protestant reformation. He fathered
numerous children including Lucrezia Borgia. Machiavelli based "The
Prince" on him.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R8)(PTA, 1980, 424)
1449 Jan 1, Lorenzo de Medici [The
Magnificent] of Florence was born.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1502 Jan 1, Portuguese navigator
Pedro Cabral and Amerigo Vespucci sailed the into the harbor of Rio de
Janeiro. Portuguese explorers sailed into Guanabra Bay and mistook it
for the mouth of a river which they named Rio de Janeiro.
(Hem., Dec. '95, p.129)(MC, 1/1/02)
1515 Jan 1, King Louis XII
(b.1462) of France, died. He was succeeded by Francis I (1494-1547).
(Econ, 12/12/09,
p.93)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_France)
1586 Jan 1, Francis Drake, who
left England on a new voyage to America last September, made a surprise
attack on the heavily fortified city of Santo Domingo in Hispaniola,
forcing the governor to pay a large ransom.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1651 Jan 1, Charles II (Stuart)
was crowned king of Scotland at Scone.
(PC, 1992, p.243)
1698 Jan 1, The Abenaki Indians
and the Massachusetts colonists signed a treaty ending the conflict in
New England.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1700 Jan 1, Russia replaced the
Byzantine with the Julian calendar.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1735 Jan 1, Paul Revere (d.1818),
U.S. patriot who rode through the streets of Boston during the American
Revolution, warning of the British landings, was born to Apollos
Rivoire and Deborah Hitchbourne, one of 13 children.
(HN, 1/1/99)(HNQ, 6/27/02)
1752 Jan 1, Betsy Ross (Elizabeth
Griscom Ross), flag maker who contributed to the design of the American
flag, was born.
(HN, 1/1/99)(MC, 1/1/02)
1764 Jan 1, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart at 8 years old played for the Royal Family at Versailles in
France.
(MC, 1/1/02)(TOH, 1764)
1766 Jan 1, James Francis Edward
Stuart (b.1688), son of James III, died. The English prince was known
as the Old Pretender.
(HN, 1/1/99)(WUD, 1994 ed., p.1410)
1785 Jan 1, "Daily Universal
Register" (Times of London) published its 1st issue. [see Jan 1, 1788]
(MC, 1/1/02)
1788 Jan 1, The Times, London's
oldest running newspaper, was first published. [see Jan 1, 1785]
(HN, 1/1/99)
1788 Jan 1, Quakers in
Pennsylvania emancipated their slaves.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1797 Jan 1, Albany became the
capital of New York state, replacing New York City.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1801 Jan 1, Giuseppi Piazzi
(d.1826), Italian astronomer, discovered an asteroid orbiting between
Mars and Jupiter. He believed it to be a planet and named it Ceres
(goddess of the harvest).
(NH, 7/02, p.36)
1804 Jan 1, Jacques Dessalines
declared independence for Haiti from France (National Day).
(WSJ, 3/1/04, p.A16)
1808 Jan 1, A US law banning the
import of slaves came into effect, but was widely ignored.
(HN, 1/1/99)(AP, 1/1/08)
1818 Jan 1, An official reopening
of the White House took place after being repaired from burning by
British during War of 1812.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, Par p.5)(MC, 1/1/02)
1818 Jan 1, The novel
"Frankenstein" by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) was published
anonymously. It was an attack on industrialization. The work stemmed
from a contest in 1816 at Byron’s Villa Diodati in Geneva, between
Byron, Shelley and Mary to produce a ghost story. In 1998 Joan Kane
Nichols published "Mary Shelley: Frankenstein’s Creator." In 2006
Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler authored “The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the
Curse of Frankenstein.” In 2007 Susan Tyler Hitchcock authored
“Frankenstein: A Cultural History.”
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R14)(SSFC, 5/21/06, p.M6)(WSJ,
10/30/07, p.D6)(ON, 11/07, p.8)
1824 Jan 1, The Camp Street
Theatre opened as the first English-language playhouse in New Orleans.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1831 Jan 1, William Lloyd Garrison
(1805-1879), 24-year-old reformer of Massachusetts, began publishing
his newspaper The Liberator, dedicated to the abolition of slavery.
Garrison's stridency and uncompromising position on both the
institution of slavery and slave owners offended many in the North and
South, but he vowed to continue the fight until slavery was abolished.
In the first issue of his newspaper, he wrote, "I am aware that many
object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for
severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as
justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, or speak, or write,
with moderation. No! No!" Garrison once burned a copy of the U.S.
Constitution, condemning it as "a covenant with death and an agreement
with hell" because it did not forbid slavery. The Liberator ceased
publication in 1865 after the 13th Amendment was passed, outlawing
slavery. [see 1830]
(HNPD, 12/31/98)
1862 Jan 1, The US established its
1st income tax.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1863 Jan, 1, All slaves held in
rebellion territory in USA were made free by Abraham Lincoln's Sep 22,
1862, Emancipation Proclamation.
(HFA, ‘96, p.22)(V.D.-H.K.p.275)(AP, 1/1/98)(HN,
1/1/99)
1863 Jan 1, Confederate General
Braxton Bragg and Union General William Rosecrans readjusted their
troops as the Battle of Murfreesboro continued.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1864 Jan 1, Alfred Stieglitz
(d.1946), American photographer, was born in New Jersey.
(www.fact-index.com)
1874 Jan 1, New York City annexed
the Bronx.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1879 Jan 1, E.M. [Edward Morgan]
Forster (d.1970), English novelist famous for "A Passage to India" and
"A Room With a View," was born in London. His novels exemplified his
ideas about the conflict between the imaginative and the earthy
component of the human soul and character.
(V.D.-H.K.p.366)(HN, 1/1/99)
1879 Jan 1, William Fox, US film
pioneer (Nickelodeon), was born.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1880 Jan 1, The building of the
Panama Canal was symbolically begun under the direction of French
diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. Actual construction began a year later.
In 2007 Matthew Parker authored “Panama Fever: The Battle to Build the
Canal.”
(http://www.ared.com/history.htm)(Econ, 2/24/07,
p.96)
1891 Jan 1, An office was opened
on Ellis Island, New York, to cope with the vast flood of immigrants
coming into the United States.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1892 Jan 1, After two years of
construction, the U.S. Immigration Service opened Ellis Island in New
York Harbor, a new facility for "processing" immigrants. Annie Moore
(15) of County Cork, Ireland, was the 1st person processed. The new
facility replaced Castle Garden, which was closed because of massive
overcrowding and corruption. The money changing concession was later
granted to American Express to end the cheating of immigrants. Formerly
used as a munitions dump and landfill, Ellis Island was designed, its
architects claimed, to handle more than 8,000 newcomers a day. Orderly
lines funneled bewildered immigrants past doctors and officials who
examined them for signs of disease. The physically and mentally ill
were refused admittance, forcing thousands of families to make the
difficult decision to return home with a relative refused entry or push
on without them. A final brusque interview by an immigration official
determined whether the newcomers had already been promised jobs. About
80 percent of those who entered Ellis Island received landing cards
permitting them to board ferries for New York City. In the 1890s, 75
percent of all immigrants entered the United States through Ellis
Island.
(AP, 1/1/98)(HNPD, 1/1/99)(AP, 1/1/98)(SFC, 3/21/98,
p.E3)(HNPD, 9/18/98)(SFEC, 6/20/99, p.T10)
1895 Jan 1, J. Edgar Hoover,
director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), was born.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1897 Jan 1, Brooklyn merged with
NY to form the present NYC. [see Jan 1, 1898]
(MC, 1/1/02)
1898 Jan 1, The consolidation of
Greater New York City occurred with the "merger" of Brooklyn and
Manhattan. Before the merger Brooklyn had absorbed Williamsburg,
Bushwick, Flatbush, Flatlands, and New Lots among other towns. The
merger created a city of 3.4 million people. Manhattan, the Bronx,
Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island were consolidated into New York City.
(WSJ, 12/31/97, p.A10)(AP, 1/1/99)
1900 Jan 1, Xavier Cugat,
bandleader (married Abbe Lane, Charo), was born in Barcelona, Spain.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1900 Jan 1, A New York
editorialist wrote that the 20th century began in the United States
with "a sense of euphoria and self-satisfaction, a sure
feeling that America is the envy of the world."
(Hem, Dec. 94, p.70)
1901 Jan 1, The 1st official
annual Mummers parade was held in Philadelphia.
(SFC, 12/31/00, p.A10)
1901 Jan 1, The Commonwealth of
Australia became official as established in the July 9, 1900,
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. 6 colonies became an
independent federation with Edmund Barton as the 1st prime minister.
Although independent it still recognized Britain’s royalty as
Australia’s head of state. The governor-general, a representative of
the queen nominated by the prime minister, was appointed by the British
monarch.
(AP, 1/1/98)(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A7)(SFC, 12/31/00, p.A18)
1907 Jan 1, Pres. Theodore
Roosevelt shook a record 8,513 hands in 1 day.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1907 Jan 1, The Pure Food and Drug
Act became law in the United States
(HN, 1/1/99)
1908 Jan 1, The 1st time-ball
signifying new year was dropped at Times Square, NYC.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1909 Jan 1, Barry Goldwater
(d.1998), Republican senator for Arizona and presidential contender,
was born in Phoenix, son of Baron and Josephine Goldwater. His
grandfather was an immigrant Polish peddler and founder of the
Goldwater department store chain.
(SFC, 5/30/98, p.A3)(MC, 1/1/02)
1912 Jan 1, Kim Philby was born.
He became a ringleader of a group of upper crust Englishmen who entered
public service or, in many cases, the British Secret Service, then
spied for the Soviets. Philby got away and spent his last years in
Moscow.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1912 Jan 1, A Massachusetts law
reducing the work-week from fifty-six to fifty-four hours for women and
children, went into effect. Workers struck spontaneously on Jan 12 when
the mill owners reduced wages to coincide with the reduced work-week.
(www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/johngold.html)
1915 Jan 1, German submarine
U-24 sank the British battleship Formidable in the English Channel
whilst on patrol and exercise with the 5th Battle Squadron. She sank
rapidly with the loss of 547 crew. The 5BS had been steaming slowly
(10knots), not zigzagging and were without destroyer escort. Admiral in
charge Lewis Bayly was dismissed from his position over the loss.
(www.worldwar1.co.uk/sunk15.htm)
1918 Jan 1, The first gasoline
pipeline began operation with 40 miles of three inch pipe from Salt
Creek to Casper, Wyoming.
(HN, 1/1/01)
1919 Jan 1, J.D. [Jerome David]
Salinger, U.S. novelist who wrote "The Catcher in the Rye" and "Franny
and Zooey," was born.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1923 Jan 1, The Angelus Temple, a
spiritual palace in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, was
dedicated by Canadian-born evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson
(1890-1944), organizer of the Int’l. Church of the Foursquare Gospel.
(WSJ, 6/2/07,
p.P9)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimee_Semple_McPherson)
1923 Jan 1, Sadi Lecointe set a
new aviation speed record flying an average of 208 mph at Istres.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1934 Jan 1, Alcatraz officially
became a federal prison. [see Aug 11, 1934]
(MC, 1/1/02)
1934 Jan 1, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp., the US bank guarantor, became effective.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1935 Jan 1, Eastern Airlines hired
Eddie Rickenbacker as GM.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1937 Jan 1, At a party at the
Hormel Mansion in Minnesota, a guest won $100 for naming a new canned
meat-Spam.
(HN, 1/1/00)
1945 Jan 1, France was admitted to
the United Nations.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1945 Jan 1, On Operation
Bodenplatte, German planes attacked American forward air bases in
Europe. This was the last major offensive of the Luftwaffe.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1946 Jan 1, In Japan Emperor
Hirohito rejected the notion that the emperor is a living god and the
notion that the Japanese are superior to other races and destined to
govern the world.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.36)(MC, 1/1/02)
1947 Jan 1, Canada’s Citizenship
Act of this year became effective. It said that citizens living outside
Canada on their 24th birthday would automatically loose their
citizenship unless they filled out a form saying they wished to keep
it. The law was amended in 1977 and raised the age factor to 28.
(Econ, 2/3/07,
p.39)(www.theshipslist.com/Forms/citizenship.htm)
1949 Jan 1, The UN brokered a
cease-fire in Kashmir. It granted Kashmir the right to vote on whether
to remain in India or to join Pakistan. No vote took place.
(SSFC, 12/30/01, p.A22)(SFC, 6/8/02, p.A20)
1953 Jan 1, Country singer Hank
Williams Sr. (29) died of a drug and alcohol overdose while enroute to
a concert date in Canton, Ohio. In 1998 Mercury Records released "The
Complete Hank Williams," with 225 recordings.
(AP, 1/1/98)(WSJ, 10/30/98, p.W9A)
1956 Jan 1, Sudan became
independent from Britain. Northern Muslim parties took over rule.
Southerners demanded autonomy and civil war began.
(WSJ, 8/25/98, p.A14)(SFC, 11/17/00, p.A20)(WSJ,
10/22/03, p.A4)(Econ, 5/15/04, p.21)
1957 Jan 1, The state of Saarland,
established in 1920 in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, joined
the Federal Republic of West Germany. The Nazis had called the area
"Westmark." After World War II the Saarland had come under French
administration.
(Econ, 8/29/09,
p.45)(http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Saarland)
1958 Jan 1, Treaties establishing
the European Economic Community went into effect.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1958 Jan 1, Dr. Douglas Kelley
(45), psychiatrist, committed suicide using potassium cyanide. He was
one of the psychiatrist used by the US Army to interview Nazi war
criminals at Nuremberg and authored the book “22 Cells in Nuremberg.”
(SSFC, 2/6/05, p.A17)
1958 Jan 1, Photographer Edward
Weston (b.1886) died. A 1973 biography was titled "Edward Weston: Fifty
Years." In 1998 his model Charis Wilson published "Through Another
Lens: My Years with Edward Weston."
(SFEM, 6/30/96, p.23)(SFC, 5/18/98, p.D1)(SFC,
9/2/06, p.E3)
1959 Jan 1, Fidel Castro led Cuban
revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the
Dominican Republic. American mafia scrambled to secure their cash and
close casinos ahead of crowds that took to the streets and trashed
their businesses. In 2008 T.J. English Morrow authored “Havana
Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba …and Then Lost It to the Revolution.”
(SFC,10/15/97, p.C2)(AP, 1/1/98)(SFC, 1/28/00,
p.A14)(WSJ, 8/5/06, p.A9)
1960 Jan 1, French Cameroun gained
independence.
(PC, 1992, p.973)(EWH, 1st ed., p.1173)
1964 Jan 1, Fatah, the Palestinian
guerrilla group founded by Yasser Arafat, made its 1st armed attack
against Israel. The annual celebration of this day came to be known as
Fatah Day.
(SFC, 1/2/01, p.A8)
1966 Jan 1, Simon &
Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" reached #1.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1966 Jan 1, A 12 day transit
worker strike shut down NYC subway and buses.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1966 Jan 1, By law all US
cigarette packs began carrying the warning: "Caution! Cigarette smoking
may be hazardous to your health."
(www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1992/8/1992_8_72.shtml)
1966 Jan 1, The 173rd Airborne
Brigade became the first American unit in the Mekong Delta of South
Vietnam.
(AH, 2/06, p.14)
1967 Jan 1, Pope Paul VI announced
his Apostolic Constitution (Indulgentiarum Doctrina). He also
established this day as World Peace Day.
(http://tinyurl.com/ah8ck9)(SFC, 1/2/99, p.C12)
1968 Jan 1-1968 Dec 31, The year
was marked by protest marches. In 1998 Tariq Ali and Susan Watkins
published: "1968: Marching in the Streets." In 2004 Mark Kurlansky
authored "1968: The Year That Rocked the World."
(SFC, 5/22/98, p.C12)(SSFC, 1/25/04, p.M1)
1969 Jan 1, President Nixon
nominated Henry Cabot Lodge, former American ambassador to South
Vietnam, as negotiator at the Paris Peace Talks.
(www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1969.html)
1970 Jan 1, Jimi Hendrix and his
Band of Gypsies, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, performed 4 shows on New
Years Eve and Day at the Fillmore East in NYC. The recording "Band of
Gypsies" was released in April. In 1999 a 2-disk CD, "Live at the
Fillmore East" was released.
(WSJ, 4/16/99, p.W13C)
1970 Jan 1, Pres. Nixon signed the
National Environmental Policy Act into law.
(WSJ, 2/25/97, p.A22)
1970 Jan 1, The Family Law Act
took effect in California. It included no-fault divorce.
(SFC, 7/20/07, p.B12)(www.jstor.org/pss/351519)
1970 Jan 1, In SF Officer Eric
Zelms was fatally shot when 2 burglars surprised him and gained control
of his gun. The burglars were later convicted of murder and sentenced 8
to 10 years.
(SFC, 1/27/07, p.A8)
1971 Jan 1, The United States
began a second decade of involvement in Vietnam.
(HN, 1/1/99)
1971 Jan 1, The US government ban
on TV Cigarette ads went into effect.
(SFEC, 9/15/96, DB p.55)(AP, 4/1/98)
1972 Jan 1, "Promises Promises"
closed at Shubert Theater NYC after 1281 performances.
(www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3438)
1972 Jan 1, Maurice Chevalier
(b.1888), French actor, singer and dancer, died in Paris. He sang
“Thank Heaven for Little Girls” in the 1958 film “Gigi.”
(SSFC, 8/8/04, Par p.2)(www.jimpoz.com)
1972 Jan 1, Kurt Waldheim
(1918-2007) of Austria began serving as the UN Secretary-General. He
continued until Jan 1, 1982.
(SFC, 12/14/96, p.A1)
1974 Jan 1, The US government
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, established by Congress in
1972, began providing new benefits for the aged, blind and disabled.
(SFEC, 1/5/97, Z1
p.5)(www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/416/416-0110.htm)
1974 Jan 1, Nawab Akbar Shahbaz
Khan Bugti (1927-2006), governor of Balochistan, Pakistan, resigned
shortly after Bhutto launched an army operation in Balochistan. The
army had deployed 100,000 men in Baluchistan and with the help of the
Iranian air force killed large numbers of Baluchis.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nawab_Akbar_Bugti)
1975 Jan 1, The Watergate verdict
was guilty when a jury convicted Richard Nixon's three top advisers on
all counts in the Watergate coverup: former attorney general John
Mitchell and White House aides Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman.
"Watergate" became shorthand for the burglary of Democratic Party
offices in Washington's Watergate office complex. The burglars were
caught and found to have White House connections. Robert Mardian
(1923-2006), attorney for the Committee to Re-elect the President
(CREEP), was also convicted, but an appeals court in October, 1996,
reversed his conviction.
(SFC, 7/21/06, p.B9)
1975 Jan 1, The Federal Hourly
Minimum Wage rose to $2.10 an hour.
(www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/coverage.htm)
1975 Jan 1, On New Year's Day
Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the
hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cambodia)
1976 Jan 1, NBC replaced the
peacock logo.
(www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/nbcLivingColor.html)
1976 Jan 1, In California the
Moscone Act, which relaxed marijuana laws, went into effect.
(www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/moscone/summary.htm)
1978 Jan 1, The US Federal Minimum
Wage, set at $2.65 an hour in November 1977, became effective.
(http://bartlett.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=2063)
1978 Jan 1, US copyright law of
2007 held that the rights to songs written before this date expire 75
years after they were published. US songs written after 1978 would hold
their copyright for 50 years after the death of the songwriter.
(WSJ, 10/30/97, p.B1,11)(www.pdinfo.com/copyrt.htm)
1978 Jan 1, An Air India jet
exploded in midair and killed 213 people near Bombay.
(WUD, 1994,
p.1691)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_855)
1979 Jan 1, China and the United
States held celebrations in Beijing and Washington to mark the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Deng
Xiaoping arranged to visit the US. China standardized the
spelling of people and place names using the Pinyin system. Peking thus
became Beijing.
(SFC, 2/20/96, p.A4)(AP, 1/1/98)(SFC, 2/05/04, p.E8)
1979 Jan 1, UN Secretary General
Kurt Waldheim signed a proclamation declaring 1979 as the
International Year of the Child.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Year_of_the_Child)
1981 Jan 1, Roger Smith (b.1925)
took office as chairman and CEO of GM.
(WSJ, 6/19/96, Adv. Supl)(http://tinyurl.com/2pvqps)
1982 Jan 1, Cecil Williams
(b.1929), the pastor of San Francisco’s Glide Memorial Church, married
Janice Mirikitani (b.1941). Both had children from previous marriages.
(SSFC, 12/6/09, p.A9)
1983 Jan 1, Pope John Paul II
declared this year to be an extraordinary Holy Year to mark the 1,950th
anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in year 33.
(SFC, 12/24/99, p.A15)
1983 Jan 1, TCP/IP became the
standard for Internet protocol.
(SFC, 8/30/99, p.C10)
1984 Jan 1, The break-up of
AT&T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its
22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement. 8 new
companies were formed including US West.
(AP, 1/1/98)(SFEC, 8/16/98,
p.A7)(www.corp.att.com/history/history4.html)
1985 Jan 1, The 1st US mandatory
seat belt law went into effect in NY.
(www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/seat-ndx.htm)
1985 Jan 1, Mustafa Maarouf Saad
(d.2002), Lebanese militia leader, lost his sight in a car explosion in
front of his house in Sidon. His daughter (13) was killed and his wife
lost one eye.
(SFC, 8/3/02, p.A18)
1986 Jan 1, Libyan leader
Moammar Khadafy threatened to retaliate if attacked as the United
States built its strength in the Mediterranean .
(HN, 1/1/99)
1988 Jan 1, President Reagan and
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev exchanged optimistic New Year's
greetings, expressing mutual hope they would reach an arms control
treaty on strategic weapons within six months.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1989 Jan 1, British PM Margaret
Thatcher distanced herself from US vows to punish whoever bombed Pam Am
Flight 103, saying in a TV interview that revenge "can affect innocent
people."
(AP, 1/1/99)
1990 Jan 1, David Dinkins was
sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1991 Jan 1, President Bush called
top advisers to the White House for a fresh assessment of the Persian
Gulf crisis.
(AP, 1/1/01)
1992 Jan 1, President Bush became
the first American leader to address the Australian Parliament, telling
lawmakers the United States would continue to subsidize its
agricultural exports, despite protests by Australia's farmers.
(AP, 1/1/02)
1992 Jan 1, Altaf Hussain
(b.1953), leader of Pakistan’s MQM party, fled to Saudi Arabia and
after a month to London. PM Nawaz Sharif soon deployed the army to
Karachi for a massive anti-MQM operation and the city descended into an
undeclared civil war.
(WSJ, 12/5/07,
p.A22)(www.elections.com.pk/candidatedetails.php?id=6881)
1992 Jan 1, Boutros Boutros-Ghali
succeeded Javier Perez de Cuellar as secretary-general of the United
Nations.
(AP, 1/1/02)
1993 Jan 1, President Bush
continued to tour Somalia, greeting hundreds of cheering youngsters and
foreign relief workers at an orphanage in Baidoa.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1993 Jan 1, Czechoslovakia
peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia. The Slovak people never voted on the 1993 split with the
Czechs. When the country split, all citizens were deemed to be either
Czech or Slovak, based on their parentage. The vast majority of the
Romany living in the Czech Republic are of Slovak descent, and they had
to apply for Czech citizenship. Vladimir Meciar (b.1942) became the
premier of Slovakia and Vaclav Klaus the premier of the Czech Rep.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladim%C3%ADr_Me%C4%8Diar)(AP,
9/21/02)(WSJ, 4/26/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 5/13/96, p.A-8)(AP, 1/1/98)
1994 Jan 1, The North American
Free Trade Agreement went into effect. Under the system a complaint is
referred to a panel of experts who debate it and render a decision. The
losing nation must then change its practices or offer compensation to
the injured nations. Members who refuse to comply can be subjected to
trade retaliation, such as tariffs to their exports. It was run out of
Geneva by Renato "Rocky" Ruggiero. GATT gave poorer countries 10 years
to strengthen their drug-patent laws and a similar period for the US to
lift its textile quotas. The World Trade Organization (WTO), founded as
the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a
relatively weak regulator of int’l. trade, was a product of the Uruguay
Round of negotiations (1986-1994). In 2000 John R. MacArthur authored
"The Selling of "Free Trade:" NAFTA, Washington, and the Subversion of
American Democracy." In 2004 David Bacon authored "The Children NAFTA:
Labor Wars on the US/Mexico Border.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A9)(WSJ, 12/3/96, p.A1)(WSJ,
12/13/96, p.A1)(AP, 1/1/98) (SFC, 11/24/99, p.A1)(SFEC, 7/2/00, BR
p.3)(SSFC, 4/4/04, p.M2)
1994 Jan 1, The California tax on
gasoline was raised to 18 cents per gallon.
(www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/Transportation/trans-24.cfm)
1994 Jan 1, Actor Cesar Romero
died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 86.
(AP, 1/1/99)
1994 Jan 1, In Mexico some 2,000
Zapatista guerrillas under the leadership of Subcommander Marcos rose
up against the government in the state of Chiapas. The Zapatista
National Liberation Army launched a rebellion to press for better
living conditions for Indian peasants in Chiapas.
(SFC, 7/2/96, p.A8)(SFC,12/18/97, p.C2)(AP, 1/1/99)
1994 Jan 1, Botswana, Germany,
Italy, Honduras, and Indonesia joined the Security Council.
(SFC, 1/1/97, p.C1)
1995 Jan 1, Gary Larson's "Far
Side" cartoon panel ended a 14-year run.
(SSFC, 11/16/03, BR p.17)
1995 Jan 1, Eugene Wigner (92),
physicist (Nobel prize for physics-1963), died.
(http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/1963/wigner-bio.html)
1995 Jan 1, Austria, Finland and
Sweden joined the European Union. Sweden held their elections to the
parliament later that year on 17 September. Austria held its elections
on 13 October, 1996 and Finland on 20 October, 1996.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_European_Union)(Econ,
5/1/04, p.26)
1995 Jan 1, In Bosnia a four month
truce between the Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian government was brokered
by former Pres. Jimmy Carter.
(WSJ, 6/11/96, p.A14)(SFC,10/16/97, p.A12)
1995 Jan 1, Fernando Henrique
Cardoso took office as Brazil's 37th president. He pushed up interest
rates to 25% and stabilized the economy.
(WSJ, 12/15/95, p.A-13)(AP, 1/1/00)
1995 Jan 1,
Fred West hanged himself in his London prison while awaiting trial in
the murders of a dozen girls and women. The victims included his wife's
16-year-old daughter and 8-year-old stepdaughter and several young
runaways.
(AP, 1/13/04)
1995 Jan 1, Chile, Egypt,
Guinea-Bissau, Poland and South Korea joined the non-permanent sector
of the Security Council.
(SFC, 1/1/97, p.C1)
1995 Jan 1, Teburoro Tito, the
incoming president of Kiribati, moved the International Date Line a
thousand miles east around Kiribati to allow all of its 33 atolls to be
line the same time zone. Thus the atoll of Kirimati never experienced
Dec 31, 1994.
(SSFC, 12/17/06, p.G5)
1996 Jan 1, In the US it became
illegal to manufacture or import freon, a refrigerant for car
air-conditioners, due to its effect on the ozone.
(SFC, 8/13/96, p.A2)
1996 Jan 1, Bayer Corp. added
Betty Rubble to its mix of Flintstone vitamins.
(http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/tvbarn/message/127)
1996 Jan 1, Retired US Admiral
Arleigh Burke, remembered for his World War II heroics, died at
Bethesda Naval Hospital at age 94.
(AP, 1/1/01)
1996 Jan 1, Arthur Rudolph (89),
German-US rocket Engineer, died. His final years were marked by his
forced return to his native Germany from the US because of his earlier
involvement with the slave labor that powered the Third Reich's V1
& V2 rocket programs.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rudolph)
1996 Jan 1, Some 100,000
Bangladeshi women rallied to protest Islamic clerics’ attacks on female
education and employment.
(AP, 1/1/01)
1996 Jan 1, A 7.0 earthquake
struck offshore near the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi. Seismologist in
Japan and Hong Kong measured it at 7.7. A tidal wave killed eight after
the quake.
(WSJ, 1/2/96, p. A-1)(WSJ, 1/3/96, p.A-1)
1996 Jan 1, Two buses collided in
northern Mexico, killing 25 people.
(AP, 1/1/01)
1997 Jan 1, The new members of the
UN security council, Japan, Kenya, Sweden, Costa Rica and Portugal,
took their seats.
(SFC, 1/1/97, p.C1)
1997 Jan 1, Kofi Annan assumed the
title of United Nations secretary-general.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1997 Jan 1, As of this date the US
withdrew completely from the UN Industrial Development Organization.
(SFC, 2/17/97, p.A14)
1997 Jan 1, The line-item veto
became officially available to Pres. Clinton.
(SFC, 1/2/97, p.A20)
1997 Jan 1, Townes Van Zandt
(1944-1997) Texas songwriter, died. His work included the 1983 song
"Pancho and Lefty," sung by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson.
(SFC, 1/3/97, p.A26)(SFC, 1/4/97, p.E1)(WSJ,
6/25/03, p.D8)
1997 Jan 1, The EU introduced the
Pan-European Cumulation System (PECS) to turn a latticework of
bilateral trade rules into a single multilateral umbrella. It extended
the system to include Turkey in 1999.
(Econ, 8/5/06,
p.68)(www.foreigntrade.gov.tr/ab/ingilizce/panavrup.htm)
1997 Jan 1, An off-duty Israeli
soldier, Noam Friedman, with a history of mental problems opened fire
on a crowded vegetable market in Hebron, wounding 5 [7] people and
touching off a stone-throwing demonstration by angry Palestinians.
(SFC, 1/1/97, p.A1)(AP, 1/1/98)
1997 Jan 1, In Mexico
long-distance telephone competition began and ended a 49-year monopoly.
(SFC, 1/1/97, p.B3)
1998 Jan 1, The 109th Rose Bowl
Parade in Pasadena was held and Univ. of Michigan beat Washington State
21-16, Florida State downed Ohio State 31-14 in the Sugar Bowl.
(SFC, 1/2/98, p.A1,22)(AP, 1/1/08)
1998 Jan 1, A new anti-smoking law
went into effect in California, prohibiting people from lighting up in
bars.
(AP, 1/1/99)
1998 Jan 1, Some 1-2 thousand Hutu
rebels attacked a military base and near the main airport and 150
civilians, 30 rebels and 2 soldiers were reported killed. Later reports
said as many as 300 were killed and that the army had sealed up the
area.
(WSJ, 1/2/98, p.A1)(SFC, 1/2/98, p.A14)(SFC, 1/3/98,
p.A8)
1998 Jan 1, In Brazil the new law
making all Brazilian adults potential organ donors went into effect.
New traffic laws also went into effect. It was reported that 50,000
people die annually from car accidents because drivers routinely ignore
traffic laws.
(SFC, 1/7/98, p.A8)(SFEC, 2/1/98, p.T12)
1998 Jan 1, In Chechnya the
president asked Shamil Basayev to form a government.
(WSJ, 1/2/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 1, In Italy navy patrols
intercepted a 2nd ship with 386 refugees, mostly Kurds,
(WSJ, 1/2/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 1, Mongolia switched from
a 46 hour to 40 hour work week.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1998 Jan 1, In Russia the
government knocked 3 zeroes off the national currency. The old ruble
notes will be exchangeable until 2002.
(SFC, 1/2/98, p.A15)
1999 Jan 1, The UN designated
Int'l. Year of Older Persons began.
(SFC, 1/16/99, p.A12)
1999 Jan 1, The Maastricht Treaty
specified that a monetary union will be established by this date, and
laid down several criteria that EU nations must fulfill in order to
join. Some of the criteria included: maximum budget deficits of 3% of
GDP, a cap on government debt of 60% of GDP. The European economic and
monetary union (EMU) was scheduled to start with a new "Euro" currency.
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain made the transition. Public use was
set for Jan 1, 2002. [see Jan 4]
(WSJ, 9/25/95, p.A-12)(WSJ, 12/5/95, p.A-14)(SFC,
11/16/96, p.A1)(SFC, 1/1/99, p.A8)
1999 Jan 1, In Canada an
avalanche, possibly triggered ceremonial gunfire, hit the Inuit village
of Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec, and 9 people were killed.
(SFC, 1/2/99, p.C12)(SFEC, 1/3/99, p.A17)
1999 Jan 1, Congo rebels massacred
at least 500 civilians over the last 3 days. Six Red Cross workers were
among the dead.
(WSJ, 1/6/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 1/11/98, p.A1)
1999 Jan 1, President Fidel
Castro, marking 40 years as Cuba's leader, portrayed his socialist
nation as a defender of humanity against rapacious capitalism.
(AP, 1/1/00)
1999 Jan 1, Weimar, Germany, began
one year’s title as the European Union’s "city of culture."
(SFEC, 7/27/97, p.T1)
1999 Jan 1, In Mongolia new
legislation liberated the news media.
(SFC, 1/2/99, p.C12)
2000 Jan 1, The Jewish calendar
year was 5760 and the new year scheduled for Sep 30. The Hindu year was
1921. The Chinese year was 4697 with the new year on Feb 5. The Muslim
lunar year was 1420 with the new year on Apr 6.
(SFC, 1/1/2000, p.A18)
2000 Jan 1, The arrival of 2000
saw no terrorist attacks, Y2K meltdowns or mass suicides among doomsday
cults, but instead saw seven continents stepping joyously and
peacefully into the New Year.
(AP, 1/1/01)
2000 Jan 1, Wisconsin beat
Stanford, 17-to-9, to become the first Big Ten team to win consecutive
Rose Bowls.
(SFEC, 1/2/00, p.A1)(AP, 1/1/01)
2000 Jan 1, Some 254 hours of
Nixon White House tapes were to be made available for public
duplication and sale under a 1996 agreement. Another 2,338 hours,
mostly unrelated to Watergate, were to be released over the next few
years.
(SFEC, 8/8/99, p.A3)
2000 Jan 1, In California the
Uniform Electronic Transactions Act became law. It validated all
transactions formed, transmitted and recorded electronically, with
certain exemptions.
(SFEC, 1/2/00, p.B1)
2000 Jan 1, The $1.25 billion
($400 million) Millennium Dome at Greenwich, designed by Lord Richard
Rogers, was built to inaugurate the millennium and provide an
exhibition space for one year. The monograph "Richard Rogers; Complete
Works, Volume One" was published in late 1999. The cable-stayed dome
was suspended from 12 projecting masts. It failed expectations, but was
reincarnated in 2007 as The O2, an all-purpose entertainment center.
(SFC, 2/1/99, p.A6,8)(SFEM, 1/2/00, p.12)(Econ,
6/23/07, p.64)
2000 Jan 1, In England the Cezanne
painting "Auvers-Sur-Oise," valued at $4.8 million, was stolen from the
Ashmoleum Museum in Oxford.
(SFEC, 1/2/00, p.A2)
2000 Jan 1, On his first full day
as acting president, Vladimir Putin assured Russians there would be no
"vacuum of power" after Boris Yeltsin’s surprise resignation.
(AP, 1/1/01)
2001 Jan 1, No. 4 Washington beat
No. 14 Purdue 34-to-24 in the Rose Bowl.
(AP, 1/1/02)
2001 Jan 1, It was announced that
Tyson Foods Inc. would buy beef and pork giant IBP Inc. in a deal
valued at $3.2 billion in cash and stock. Tyson later tried to back
out, but IBP sued, and a judge ordered Tyson to complete the deal.
(AP, 1/1/02)
2001 Jan 1, Ray Walston (b.1914),
film and TV actor (My Favorite Martian) died in Beverly Hills, Calif.,
at age 86.
(AP, 1/1/02)(NW, 12/31/01, p.106)
2001 Jan 1, In Canada new
cigarette warning labels became effective. 16 rotating labels included
such warnings as "Cigarettes cause mouth disease" with a photograph of
blackened, bleeding gums.
(SFC, 1/3/01, p.A9)
2001 Jan 1, In Canada a new
federal gun control measure went into effect. It called for the
licensing and registration of all shotguns and hunting rifles.
(SFC, 1/5/01, p.A16)
2001 Jan 1, In Israel a car bomb
wounded at least 40 people in Netanya and gunfire killed 4 Palestinians
in the West Bank.
(SFC, 1/2/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 1, In the Netherlands a
fire in a Volendam café killed at least 8 people and injured
some 200.
(SFC, 1/1/00, p.A12)(SFC, 1/2/01, p.A10)
2001 Jan 1, In Mexico rebels soon
called for the closure all 7 military bases near rebel strongholds.
(SFC, 1/2/01, p.A9)
2001 Jan 1, Taiwan allowed Chinese
merchants and tourists to sail to Kinmen Island, a move to
decriminalize reality and a possible preparation for wider links.
(SFC, 12/28/00, p.C2)(SFC, 1/2/01, p.A9)
2001 Jan 1, A shipwreck off Turkey
killed at least 6 people. The Georgian-flagged Pati cargo ship carried
illegal immigrants and dozens were missing.
(SFC, 1/2/01, p.A10)
2002 Jan 1, No. 2 Oregon defeated
No. 3 Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl.
(AP, 1/1/03)
2002 Jan 1, Michael Bloomberg
succeeded Rudolph Giuliani as New York City's mayor.
(AP, 1/1/03)
2002 Jan 1, Pres. Bush announced
that envoy Gen. Anthony Zinni would return to the Middle East to push
for steps to renew peace talks.
(SFC, 1/2/02, p.A9)
2002 Jan 1, Eduardo Duhalde, a
Peronist and former vice-president, was chosen as Argentina’s new
president, the 5th in less than 2 weeks.
(SFC, 1/2/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 1, Egyptian state
television launched a new program directed at Israelis. It was planned
to extend the 30 min show to 2 hours.
(SFC, 1/2/02, p.A9)
2002 Jan 1, In Europe 50 billion
new euro coins and 14 billion new euro notes began circulating in 12
participating countries in the most ambitious currency changeover in
history: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal.
(SFC, 1/2/02, p.A8)(AP, 1/1/03)
2002 Jan 1, Pakistan ordered the
country’s military intelligence agency to cut off backing for Islamic
militant groups fighting in Kashmir.
(SFC, 1/2/02, p.A3)
2003 Jan 1, Oklahoma romped past
Washington State 34-14 in the Rose Bowl; Georgia defeated Florida State
26-13 in the Sugar Bowl; Notre Dame saw its sixth straight bowl loss,
losing to North Carolina State 28-6 in the Gator Bowl.
(AP, 1/1/04)
2003 Jan 1, More than two dozen
surgeons stopped working in West Virginia to protest the high cost of
malpractice insurance.
(AP, 1/1/04)
2003 Jan 1, U.S. and British
warplanes attacked an Iraqi mobile radar system after it entered the
southern no-fly zone.
(AP, 1/1/03)
2003 Jan 1, Joe Foss (87), former
South Dakota Gov. and World War II hero who also served as president of
the National Rifle Association and commissioner of the American
Football League, died at an Arizona hospital.
(AP, 1/1/04)
2003 Jan 1, In Bosnia the EU
hoisted its dark blue banner to officially mark the transfer of
peacekeeping duties from the United Nations, while NATO-led troops
handed over control of Sarajevo's airport to Bosnian authorities.
(AP, 1/1/03)
2003 Jan 1, Brazil's first elected
leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office. Gilberto
Gill (60), musician, became minister of culture.
(SFC, 1/2/03, p.A3)(AP, 1/1/04)
2003 Jan 1, In Canada a new gun
law came into effect that required the registration of all rifles and
shotguns.
(AP, 1/2/03)
2003 Jan 1, In Gaza 3 Palestinian
boys were shot and killed by soldiers after scaling a fence around
Jewish settlements. Thousands of Palestinians marched in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip to mark the 38th anniversary of the founding of Arafat's
Fatah movement.
(AP, 1/2/03)(SFC, 1/2/03, p.A5)
2003 Jan 1, Dumitru Tinu (62), a
leading Romanian journalist who covered the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia and steered his newspaper along independent lines after
communism ended, died in a car accident.
(AP, 1/1/03)
2004 Jan 1, The University of
Southern California defeated the University of Michigan, 28-14, in the
Rose Bowl.
(AP, 1/1/05)
2004 Jan 1, The 1st US anti-spam
law, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, went into effect. It made it illegal for
advertisers to falsify their identity and required an effective way for
recipients to get themselves removed from advertiser lists.
(SFC, 1/2/04, p.B1)
2004 Jan 1, A California ban on
the gasoline additive MTBE went into effect. Ethanol became the new
additive of choice, even though it could increase air pollution.
(AP, 12/31/04)
2004 Jan 1, Houston's $324
million, 7.5 mile, light rail system made its inaugural trips.
(AP, 1/2/04)(WSJ, 1/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 1, The US Navy seized a
4th drug-smuggling vessel in the Persian Gulf with about 2,800 pounds
of hashish. Street value was estimated at $11 million.
(AP, 1/2/04)
2004 Jan 1, Afghanistan's
constitutional convention came off the rails, as panicked officials
adjourned the gathering in the face of a boycott by opponents of
President Hamid Karzai. Tajik and Uzbek delegates mounted a boycott
demanding that minority rights be guarded.
(AP, 1/1/04)(WSJ, 1/2/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 1, Brazil began
fingerprinting and photographing American visitors in retaliation to
similar new US procedures.
(WSJ, 12/31/03, p.A1)
2004 Jan 1, China began running
the world's 1st commercially operated maglev train in Shanghai. The
German-built system spanned 18 miles.
(SFC, 1/10/04, p.E4)
2004 Jan 1, In Colombia Luis
Eduardo Garzon took the helm as the first leftist mayor of Bogota.
(AP, 1/2/04)
2004 Jan 1, Jiri Loewy (73), a
Czech journalist who campaigned against communism from exile, died in
Germany.
(AP, 1/3/04)
2004 Jan 1, President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide pledged to improve life for his impoverished
nation as police blocked thousands of anti-government demonstrators
during celebrations marking Haiti's 200th anniversary of independence
from France. More than 15,000 Aristide supporters rallied outside the
National Palace as more than 5,000 government opponents massed in the
capital's streets and faced off with police and government partisans.
(AP, 1/1/04)(AP, 1/2/04)
2004 Jan 1, Pres. Thabo Mbeki of
South Africa joined Pres. Aristide for Haiti’s independence
celebrations.
(WPR, 3/04, p.29)
2004 Jan 1, Iranian officials
welcomed America's temporary lifting of sanctions against the Persian
state following the country's earthquake, and the foreign minister said
the embargo should end permanently.
(AP, 1/1/04)
2004 Jan 1, Pakistan's Pervez
Musharraf won a vote of confidence that supporters hailed as the final
step on the general's journey from dictator to democrat. Opponents
derided the proceedings, which will keep the Pakistani leader in power
as president until 2007.
(AP, 1/1/04)
2004 Jan 1, A Pakistani airline
flew from Lahore to New Delhi and back, re-establishing a commercial
link that was cut by a war scare in 2002.
(WSJ, 1/2/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 1, North Korea confirmed
that it would allow a U.S. delegation to visit its main nuclear complex
next week, the first such inspection since the isolated communist
country expelled UN monitors more than a year ago.
(AP, 1/2/04)
2004 Jan 1, In South Africa a
minibus full of British and Canadian tourists headed to a scenic
mountain area crashed, killing eight Britons and the pedestrian.
(AP, 1/1/04)
2004 Jan 1, In Taiwan tens of
thousands of protesters marched peacefully to push for full democracy
in this former British colony.
(AP, 1/1/04)
2005 Jan 1, Europe’s 7,000 listed
companies adopted int’l. financial reporting standards (IFRS),
replacing the mishmash of 25 local accounting regimes with one set of
rules. Over 90 countries began switching to a new int’l. accounting
standards.
(WSJ, 12/9/04, p.C1)(Econ, 6/18/05, p.73)
2005 Jan 1, A new California law
took effect giving gay couples who register as domestic partners nearly
the same responsibilities and benefits as married spouses.
(AP, 1/1/05)
2005 Jan 1, Shirley Chisholm (80),
advocate for minority rights, died. She became the first black woman
elected to Congress and later the first black person to seek a major
party's nomination for the US presidency.
(AP, 1/3/05)
2005 Jan 1, Robert Matsui (63),
13-term California Democratic congressman, died. On April 13 US
Representatives voted to name the federal courthouse in Sacramento in
his honor.
(SFC, 1/3/05, p.A1)(SFC, 4/14/05, p.B3)
2005 Jan 1, Australia’s free
trade agreement with the US became effective.
(Econ, 5/7/05, Survey p.10)
2005 Jan 1, The British Freedom of
Information Act of 2000 went into effect. It gave a general right of
access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities
and places obligations on public authorities to disclose information,
subject to a range of exemptions.
(Econ, 12/23/06,
p.84)(www.bl.uk/about/policies/freedom.html)
2005 Jan 1, The 1974 Multi-Fiber
Arrangement (MFA), which had restricted Chinese textile exports, ended.
This forced Cambodia to face fierce competition from rival exporters.
This led to the loss of some 30,000 jobs in Mauritius.
(www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/February06/Features/feature2.htm)(Econ,
2/19/05, p.42)(Econ, 10/18/08, p.58)
2005 Jan 1, A deal to eliminate
import tariffs between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda came into force,
marking the first major step toward integrating the East African
nations into a single economic and investment block.
(AP, 1/1/05)
2005 Jan 1, Indonesia was forecast
for 4.8% annual GDP growth with a population at 227.1 million and GDP
per head at $1,230.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.91)
2005 Jan 1, In Indonesia
desperate, homeless villagers on the tsunami-ravaged island of Sumatra
mobbed American helicopters carrying aid as the U.S. military launched
its largest operation in the region since the Vietnam War.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2005 Jan 1, Al-Qaida's arm in Iraq
released a video showing its militants lining up five captured Iraqi
security officers and executing them in the street.
(AP, 1/1/05)
2005 Jan 1, Ireland's 2nd city of
Cork became the European capital of culture for 2005, offering up a
program of theatre, music, art, literature as well as sporting and
other events.
(AFP, 1/1/05)
2005 Jan 1, Jamaica's embattled
police commissioner Francis Forbes resigned following record number of
homicides in 2004. The island nation of 2.6 million people, reported a
record 1,145 homicides for 2004, compared with 975 the year before.
(AP, 1/2/05)
2005 Jan 1, Japan pledged up to
$500 million in grant aid for tsunami disaster relief.
(AP, 1/1/05)
2005 Jan 1, Japan’s currency
opened at 102.41 yen to the dollar. Rising oil prices pushed it down in
April to 108.91 to the dollar.
(WSJ, 4/7/05, p.C16)
2005 Jan 1, In Norway a new law
went into effect to allow foreign hunters to hunt seals. The
legislation raised the seal kill quota to 2,000.
(SFC, 11/27/04, p.A10)
2005 Jan 1, In southern Peru
Antauro Humala, retired army major, led a nationalist group that seized
a police station ambushed a police vehicle responding to the scene,
killing four officers and wounding several more.
(AP, 1/2/05)(Econ, 1/8/05, p.38)
2005 Jan 1, Romania enacted a law
forbidding int’l. adoptions except to biological grandparents in an
effort to help it win EU membership.
(WSJ, 1/3/05, p.A1)
2005 Jan 1, In Saudi Arabia 2 men,
a Pakistani and an Iraqi, were beheaded for smuggling in drugs.
(AP, 1/1/05)
2005 Jan 1, A new Swiss law took
effect that legalized the production of absinthe.
(SFC, 11/4/04, p.A2)
2005 Jan 1, Taiwan was forecast
for 4.8% annual GDP growth with a population at 22.9 million and GDP
per head at $14,560.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.92)
2005 Jan 1, Taiwan’s Statement of
Financial Standards No. 35 took effect.
(WSJ, 4/6/05, p.C18)
2005 Jan 1, The New (yeni) Turkish
Lira (YTL), will begin circulating, wiping out six zeroes from the
current money. The old lira will keep circulating until Dec 31.
(AP, 9/23/04)(Econ, 8/28/04, p.67)(SSFC, 12/5/04,
p.F2)
2005 Jan 1, Uganda President
Yoweri Museveni said the army will resume all-out war on rebels in
northern Uganda, charging that the insurgents rejected a cease-fire
deal that had been expected to open the way for political talks on
ending the 18-year civil war.
(AP, 1/1/05)
2006 Jan 1, President Bush
strongly defended his domestic spying program, calling it legal as well
as vital to thwarting terrorist attacks.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2006 Dec 31, The US Medicare
prescription drug plan went into effect.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2006 Dec 31, American teenager
Farris Hassan, who'd traveled alone to Iraq to experience the lives of
its people, returned home to Florida after three weeks in the Middle
East.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2006 Jan 1, The California Energy
Commission introduced mandatory standby requirement for various
electronic devices.
(Econ, 3/11/06, Survey p.34)
2006 Jan 1, Raging bushfires have
destroyed at least 10 homes and threatened scores more in southeast
Australia as a scorching heat wave hit Sydney with its hottest New
Year's Day on record.
(AFP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, The Royal Mail's
350-year-long monopoly of the letter-delivery business in Britain
ended, as new rules kicked in to allow rival operators to win a slice
of the market.
(AP, 6/29/07)
2006 Jan 1, Toronto wrapped up
2005 with 78 homicides, 52 of them gun-related.
(CP, 1/2/06)
2006 Jan 1, The Central America
Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) failed to start due to legal and
regulatory reforms. Juan Carlos Paiz of the Guatemalan Union of
Nontraditional Products blamed the US in large part for the delay,
saying Washington was requiring too much of its poorer partners. The 6
participating nations included, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua,
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, In China a new policy
took effect that allowed listed companies to grant stock options to
senior executives and certain employees as incentives.
(WSJ, 1/6/06, p.A8)
2005 Jan 1, Denmark’s PM Anders
Fogh Rasmussen, in response to cartoons published by Jyllands-Posten
depicting the prophet Muhammad, condemned in his new year’s speech any
attempt to demonize groups of people on the basis of religion or ethnic
background.
(Econ, 1/7/06, p.44)
2006 Jan 1, East African leaders
said that millions of people in the region faced hunger because poor
rains had affected vital crops and pasture. Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Somalia and Tanzania faced acute food shortages.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, In Haiti 2 kidnapped
American journalists, who said their captors threatened to kill them,
were freed after friends and family assembled a ransom for their
release.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, Officials said a cold
snap sweeping northern India has killed another five homeless people,
taking the toll to 101 since the start of December.
(AFP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, An Islamic militant
group kidnapped nine Iranian soldiers near that country's border with
Pakistan. On Jan 4 Al-Arabiya said the group threatened to kill them
unless the Tehran government released 16 members from prison.
(AP, 1/4/06)
2006 Jan 1, Insurgents exploded 13
car bombs across Iraq, including eight in Baghdad within a three-hour
span, but the New Year's Day onslaught killed no one and injured only
20 people.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, Subcomandante Marcos
(b.1957), identified by the Mexican government as Rafael Guillen, began
a tour of 31 Mexican states under the name “Delegate Zero.” The leader
of Mexico's Zapatista rebels, wearing a ski mask to protect his
identity, railed against the government and free trade to kick off a
six-month tour of Mexico aimed at reshaping the nation's politics.
(WSJ, 1/5/06, p.A12)(AP, 1/2/06)
2006 Jan 1, Norway passed
legislation requiring every publicly traded company in Norway to have
40% women on its board by Jan 1 2008.
(www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/international/europe/12oslo.html)
2006 Jan 1, A coalition of
thousands of Islamic schools vowed to resist a Pakistani government
plan to deport their foreign students, calling the proposal immoral.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, Palestinian security
forces stormed a building where an Italian hostage was being held,
freeing the man after a shootout with his kidnappers.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, Russia took over the
annual presidency of the G8 club of industrialized democracies for the
first time from Britain on New Year's Day.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, Russia's natural gas
monopoly halted sales to Ukraine in a price dispute and began reducing
pressure in transmission lines that also carry substantial supplies to
western Europe. Supplies of natural gas to Poland have been hit by cuts
imposed by Russia on the amount of gas entering the pipeline system in
neighbouring Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/1/06)(AFP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, Spanish smokers faced
a wrenching change New Year's Day as a nationwide ban on tobacco in the
workplace came into force in a country known for its smoky bars.
(AP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 1, In Venezuela 32
privately operated oil fields returned to state control. A 2001
hydrocarbons law had required oil production to be carried out by
companies majority-owned by the government.
(WSJ, 1/3/06, p.A14)
2006 Jan 1, In northern Yemen
tribesmen kidnapped five Italians, a day after the government
negotiated the release of five Germans held hostage. Tribesmen soon
freed three Italian women, who were among a group of five Italian
tourists, and pressed for the release of kinsmen held by the
authorities.
(Reuters, 1/1/06)
2007 Jan 1, The 9th-ranked Boise
State Broncos completed a perfect season with a 43-42 overtime victory
over No. 7 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Southern California beat
Michigan 32-18 in the Rose Bowl.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2007 Jan 1, In SF the minimum wage
rose 3.6% to $9.14 per hour following a mandatory 2003 requirement for
annual cost of living adjustments. SF police reported a decline in
homicides to 85 in 2006, down from 96 in 2005.
(SFC, 1/2/07, p.E1)
2007 Jan 1, In Washington DC a
smoking ban passed in 2005 was extended to bars and nightclubs. The ban
for smoking in restaurants and offices had taken effect in April 2006.
(SFC, 1/2/07, p.A3)
2007 Jan 1, In Denver, Colorado,
Broncos football player Darrent Williams was killed in a drive-by
shooting in the early morning and two people with him were injured. On
October 8, 2008, Willie D. Clark (25) was indicted for the murder.
(Reuters, 1/1/07)(AP, 10/9/08)
2007 Jan 1, Tillie Olsen (94),
writer and SF labor activist, died. In 1961 she won the O. Henry Award
for best short story for her “Tell me Riddle.” In 2008 Ann Hershey
completed her documentary “Tillie Olsen: A Heart in Action.”
(SFC, 1/10/08, p.E1)
2007 Jan 1, Grand Ole Opry star
Del Reeves died at age 74.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2007 Jan 1, The government of
President Evo Morales approved a decree requiring US citizens to obtain
visas to enter Bolivia. Morales said the decree was "a matter of
reciprocity." The US government requires Bolivians to obtain visas to
enter the United States.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2007 Jan 1, In Brazil Sergio
Cabral took office as governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The
state’s economy was valued at around $130 billion, about the same as
that of Venezuela.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.50)
2007 Jan 1, Bulgaria and Romania
joined the EU. Some 30,000 Israelis gained EU citizenship due to their
dual registration in Romania.
(WSJ, 10/4/07, p.A11)(AP, 1/1/07)
2007 Jan 1, China’s government
began requiring all companies listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock
markets to prepare their accounts according to Int’l. Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS). The initial decision had been made in Nov
2005. New rules came into effect that allowed foreign reporters to go
more or less where they pleased.
(Econ, 1/13/07, p.13, 63)(Econ, 1/20/07, p.18)
2007 Jan 1, Li Zhaoxing, China's
foreign minister, signed a string of accords in Benin as part of a
whistle-stop tour of seven African nations as Beijing bolsters economic
ties on the continent. From Benin Li flew to Equatorial Guinea ahead of
visits in the coming days to Guinea-Bissau, Chad, the Central African
Republic, Eritrea and Botswana.
(AFP, 1/2/07)
2007 Jan 1, In Germany a
government plan to encourage working couples to have children went into
effect with benefits worth up to 25,200 euros (17,000 pounds).
(AP, 1/2/07)
2007 Jan 1, Hong Kong became a
mostly smoke-free city as a ban on smoking in many public places went
into effect.
(SFC, 1/1/07, p.A3)
2007 Jan 1, Flight KI-574, an
Indonesian passenger plane carrying 102 people, disappeared in stormy
weather off Sulawesi island. Rescue teams were sent to search in the
area where the Boeing 737-400 sent out a distress signal. In 2008
investigators said the pilots had accidentally disconnecting the
plane's autopilot. A speed boat capsized in poor weather off the coast
of Borneo island, killing 15 people.
(AP, 1/1/07)(AP, 1/2/07)(AFP, 3/25/08)
2007 Jan 1, Iraqi authorities
reported that 16,273 Iraqis, including 14,298 civilians, 1,348 police
and 627 soldiers died violent deaths in 2006. Iraqi police reported
finding the 40 handcuffed, blindfolded and bullet-riddled bodies in
Baghdad. The US military killed six Iraqis during a raid on the offices
of a prominent Sunni political figure, where American forces believed
al-Qaida fighters had taken refuge. A US soldier was killed by a
roadside bomb southwest of Baghdad. The blast wounded three others,
including an interpreter, as they talked with local residents about
sectarian violence.
(AP, 1/2/07)
2007 Jan 1, A photographer for the
French news agency Agence France Presse was kidnapped in Gaza City just
before sundown.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2007 Jan 1, Somali government
troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and fighter jets captured the last
major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement, while hundreds of
Islamic fighters, many of them Arabs and South Asians, fled the town.
PM Ali Mohamed Gedi set a 3-day deadline for gun collection.
(AP, 1/1/07)(SFC, 1/3/07, p.A3)
2007 Jan 1, South Korean diplomat
Ban Ki-moon became the UN’s eighth secretary-general.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2007 Jan 1, Slovenia adopted the
euro, becoming the 13th EU nation to use the single European currency.
The transition to the euro included a 14-day period for dual use of the
euro and Slovene tolar.
(WSJ, 12/30/06, p.A4)(AP, 1/1/07)
2008 Jan 1, This marked the start
of the International Year of the Potato as declared by the UN. The
potato stood s the world’s 4th biggest food crop, after maize, wheat
and rice.
(Econ, 3/1/08, p.18, 92)(SSFC, 10/5/08, p.A15)
2008 Jan 1, In Arizona new laws
targeting employers who hire illegal immigrants took effect, with
experts predicting the move may cost the state's economy billions of
dollars in lost income and taxes.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, In California a batch
of new state laws took effect including a 50-cent raise in the minimum
wage to $8 per hour. AB1298 too effect. It expanded the state’s
data-breach notification law to include unencrypted medical histories.
(SFC, 1/2/08, p.A1)(SFC, 1/4/08, p.C1)
2008 Jan 1, The Michigan
Wolverines upset No. 9 Florida 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl to win
their first bowl game since 2003. This one was special. Michigan's
senior class won its first bowl game in four tries and Lloyd Carr ended
his coaching career on a high note.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, In New Hampshire
Dozens of gay and lesbian couples entered into civil unions in the
early moments of New Year's Day as a new state law legalized the
partnerships.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, By state law strip
clubs in Texas began imposing a $5 surcharge, dubbed the “pole tax,”
providing the state with an estimated $40 million in annual revenue.
Most of the proceeds were to go to programs supporting victims of
sexual assault.
(Econ, 1/5/08, p.28)
2008 Jan 1, Across Afghanistan
roadside bombs and military operations killed 19 people, including 14
Taliban fighters.
(AP, 1/1/08)(AP, 1/2/08)
2008 Jan 1, Bhutan election
officials announced that the Himalayan nation will begin its
transformation from an absolute monarchy to a democracy with several
leaders fresh out of college at the helm. The size of the country's
population is unknown. Estimates put it between 700,000 and 2.2 million.
(AP, 1/2/08)
2008 Jan 1, In Rio Piracicaba,
Brazil, a jail fire killed eight inmates who could not be rescued
because the guard had left with the keys.
(AP, 1/2/08)
2008 Jan 1, Britain defied a
Russian order to close the regional offices of its cultural arm from
New Year's day, but there was no evidence of Russian attempts to
forcibly close British Council centers.
(Reuters, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, EU newcomers Cyprus
and Malta adopted the euro, bringing to fifteen the number of countries
using the currency with increasing clout over the slumping US dollar.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, Vandals torched 372
cars as France celebrated the New Year, down on the figure last year
after a night the police described as "relatively calm."
(AP, 1/1/08)(Reuters, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, Smokers took to
lighting up on the sidewalks as a ban took effect across France ,
Germany and Lithuania, the latest European countries to say "no
smoking." Across France smokers took advantage of a one-day grace
period and savored their last cigarettes over morning coffee in cafes
as a ban against lighting up in bars and restaurants took effect.
(AP, 1/1/08)(AFP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, In Ghana 2 US Navy
sailors, Patrick Mack (22) of Warren, Mich., and Lonnie Davis Jr. (35)
of Riverdale, Ga., were found dead in a hotel room in Accra. They were
stationed aboard the USS Fort McHenry, which is on a 7-month voyage in
the Gulf of Guinea.
(AP, 1/1/08)(AP, 1/3/08)
2008 Jan 1, In northern India 2
assailants with guns and grenades ambushed a police recruitment center
in an attack that killed seven police officers and a civilian in
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh state. In Bihar state suspected Maoist rebels
shot dead four soldiers.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, Iraq began curbing its
food ration system. By June it planned to end the program altogether
for many of the country’s citizens. A suicide attacker detonated an
explosives-rigged vest at a Shiite funeral in Baghdad, killing 36
people gathered to mourn the death of an Iraqi army officer killed in a
car bombing. In Jalula the bodies of a Sunni policeman and four of his
relatives were found hours after gunman abducted them from their home.
Also in Diyala province, a Shiite man and his 16-year-old son where
killed in a drive-by shooting as they stood outside their home.
(AP, 1/1/08)(AP, 1/2/08)(WSJ, 2/26/08, p.A5)
2008 Jan 1, In Kenya a mob torched
a church sheltering hundreds of people fleeing election violence. Up to
50 ethnic Kikuyus were killed in the fire in the Assemblies of God
Church in the Rift Valley city of Eldoret. The death toll from ethnic
riots triggered by President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election soared
to nearly 200.
(AP, 1/1/08)(Reuters, 1/1/08)(AP, 1/2/08)
2008 Jan 1, Libya took over the
rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in a major step back to
global respectability after decades as a pariah of the West.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, In Mexico import
tariffs on maize, beans, sugar and milk were eliminated.
(Econ, 1/26/08, p.38)
2008 Jan 1, In Mongolia a
government official said at least 11 people died and another 21 were
hospitalized for drinking tainted vodka during New Year's Eve
celebrations in Ulan Bator.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, In Nigeria armed men
killed 13 people over New Year in Port Harcourt when they attacked two
police stations and a hotel. The Niger Delta Vigilante Movement, led by
Ateke Tom, claimed responsibility.
(AFP, 1/2/08)(SFC, 1/2/08, p.A3)
2008 Jan 1, Pakistan's election
commission said that unrest following the killing of Benazir Bhutto
would almost certainly force the postponement of Jan. 8 elections,
despite opposition threats of street protests if the poll is delayed.
Militants abducted four Pakistani paramilitary soldiers in a tribal
area. Pakistani troops killed 25 militants close to the Afghan border
in fighting following the abduction of four soldiers.
(AP, 1/1/08)(AFP, 1/1/07)(AP, 1/2/08)
2008 Jan 1, Gaza's ruling Hamas
militant group launched a new crackdown on the rival Fatah movement,
arresting dozens of activists and barring public gatherings after Fatah
anniversary celebrations sparked deadly violence. Fighting stretched
into a second day, leaving a total of eight dead and 60 wounded.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, Slovenia became the
first of 12 newcomers to take over the rotating presidency of the EU
Union, a big psychological boost to a nation that gained independence
from the ruins of the former Yugoslavia 16 years ago.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, In Sri Lanka a gunman
assassinated an opposition lawmaker and one other person at a New Year
religious service near Colombo, and the lawmaker's party held the
government responsible for his slaying.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, In Sudan an American
diplomat and his driver were shot to death in Khartoum. John Granville
(33), an official for the US Agency for International Development, was
being driven home at about 4 a.m. when another vehicle cut off his car
and opened fire before fleeing the scene. A group calling itself Ansar
al-Tawhid later claimed responsibility for the murder. On Feb 9
Sudanese security forces arrested two suspects in the murder. On Sep 20
five Sudanese Islamists admitted in filmed statements their role in
murdering Granville and his driver. They were formally charged on Feb
5, 2009. On June 24 four Islamists were sentenced to death. A 5th man
was sentenced to 2 years in prison for providing a weapon.
(AP, 1/1/08)(AP, 1/2/08)(AFP, 1/5/08)(AP,
2/10/08)(AP, 9/21/08)(AP, 2/5/09)(AFP, 6/24/09)
2008 Jan 1, In Uzbekistan as of
this day execution by firing squad will no longer be legal, and the
maximum sentence will be life or long-term imprisonment. The reforms
have been incorporated into new criminal code and were sanctioned by a
presidential decree signed by Islam Karimov.
(http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40819)
2008 Jan 1, Venezuela launched a
new currency with the new year, lopping off three zeros from
denominations in a bid to simplify finances and boost confidence in a
money that has been losing value due to high inflation.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2009 Jan 1, In the SF Bay Area a
BART police officer shot Oscar Grant (22) on the platform of the
Fruitvale BART Station in the early morning in the midst of a brawl
between 2 young rival groups. Grant died later that morning at Highland
Hospital. Witnesses said Grant was lying face down with his hands
behind him when he was shot in the back by Officer Johannes Mehserle
(27). On Dec 6 an attorney for the family filed a $25 million claim
against BART. On Jan 13 Mehserle was arrested in Nevada and charged
with homicide.
(SFC, 1/2/09, p.A1)(SSFC, 1/4/09, p.B1)(SFC, 1/7/09,
p.A6)(SFC, 1/14/09, p.A1)
2009 Jan 1, Bank of America
purchased Merrill Lynch to save it from bankruptcy. It was later
revealed that the company had awarded $3.6 billion in bonuses to over
39,000 employees just before the acquisition by BofA. The bonuses
included $121 million to four top executives.
(WSJ, 2/12/09, p.C3)(WSJ, 2/12/09, p.C3)
2009 Jan 1, Claiborne Pell
(b.1918), former US Senator from Rhode Island (1660-1997), died. He was
the chief sponsor of the 1965 law establishing the national Endowment
for the Arts and the national Endowment for the Humanities. He also
sponsored legislation creating the Basic Educational Opportunities
Grants (1972), which provided direct aid to college students. The
awards were renamed the Pell Grants in 1980.
(SFC, 1/2/09, p.B6)
2009 Jan 1, A suicide car bomb
exploded near an Afghan and NATO military convoy in the western
province of Herat and killed an Afghan policeman. 2 UN staff of the
World Food Program and 4 others were kidnapped in Nimroz province by
alleged Taliban militants. The 2 UN workers were freed on Jan 27.
(AP, 1/1/09)(AFP, 1/28/09)
2009 Jan 1, The IMF announced
plans to lend Belarus $2.5 billion to help the country cope with the
global economic crises.
(WSJ, 1/2/09), p.A5)
2009 Jan 1, The Czech Republic
took over the six-month rotating presidency from EU heavyweight France.
It will face the daunting task of implementing a $258 billion European
economic stimulus package approved by EU leaders under the French
presidency.
(AP, 12/31/08)
2009 Jan 1, In Germany thieves
over the last 24 hours stole an estimated $250,000 in art work from the
Fasanengalerie, a private art gallery in western Berlin.
(SFC, 1/3/09, p.A3)
2009 Jan 1, In India 3 bombs
exploded in the restive northeast, killing at least five people and
wounding 50, about an hour before the nation's top security official
arrived in the area.
(AP, 1/1/09)
2009 Jan 1, The United States
handed over control of the Green Zone and Saddam Hussein's presidential
palace to Iraqi authorities in a ceremonial move described by the
country's prime minister as a restoration of Iraq's sovereignty.
British forces handed over control of Basra airport, its main military
base in southern Iraq, to Iraqi officials in accordance with an
agreement signed with Baghdad this week. A roadside bomb killed two
Iraqi soldiers in the town of Jalula, 80 miles northeast of Baghdad. In
Mosul a parked truck bomb killed three police officers trying to search
it and wounded a bystander. In Kirkuk Iraqi and US troops killed three
suspected al-Qaida gunmen during a raid. American soldiers shot and
wounded a woman after she failed to heed warnings to stop near a
Baghdad checkpoint recently targeted by suicide and car bombs.
(AP, 1/1/09)(AFP, 1/1/09)(AP, 1/3/09)
2009 Jan 1, Israel
assassinated Nizar Rayan (52), a Hamas strongman, in its first assault
on the top leadership of Gaza's rulers, escalating a crushing aerial
offensive even as it declared it was ready to launch a ground invasion.
The aerial strike also killed 12 other people including two of Rayan's
four wives and four of his 12 children. Officials said more than 400
Gazans have been killed and some 1,700 have been wounded. The UN said
the death toll included more than 60 civilians, 34 of them children.
Three Israeli civilians and one soldier have also died in rocket
attacks from Gaza.
(AP, 1/1/09)
2009 Jan 1, Vilnius, Lithuania, a
city of about 550,000 people, opened the year sharing the EU Capital of
Culture title with Austria’s Linz.
(SSFC, 7/22/07,
p.G6)(www.culturelive.lt/en/european_capitals_of_culture)
2009 Jan 1, Mexican federal police
captured two alleged hit men after the suspects threw a hand grenade at
police and soldiers who cornered them at a house. Eight officers were
wounded in the confrontation. In the western town of La Huerta, a
shootout between rival families at a New Year's party left four dead,
and a clash between soldiers and alleged drug traffickers in Chihuahua
state reportedly killed three smugglers.
(AP, 1/2/09)
2009 Jan 1, In northwest Pakistan
a suspected US missile strike by a drone aircraft destroyed a vehicle,
killing at least three foreign militants. The US drone killed 2
Al-Qaida leaders from Kenya, Usama al-Kini and Sheikh Ahmed Salim
Swedan. Pakistani authorities arrested Ustad Mohammed Yasir, a former
Taliban spokesman, during a raid on his relatives' house in Peshawar
near the Afghan border. Yasir had been previously arrested by Pakistan
in 2005 and sent to Afghanistan where he was released in 2007 in
exchange for a kidnapped Italian journalist.
(AP, 1/1/09)(AP, 1/3/09)(WSJ, 1/10/09, p.A6)
2009 Jan 1, Russia’s Pres.
Medvedev signed a bell ending jury trials in cases involving treason,
terror, armed revolt and sabotage. Instead, defendants will have to
face three judges.
(WSJ, 1/2/09, p.A1)
2009 Jan 1, Russia cut off the gas
to Ukraine after a contract dispute but increased supplies to other
European states to try to reassure customers worried about possible
disruption.
(Reuters, 1/1/09)
2009 Jan 1, Slovakia became the
16th European Union member state to adopt the euro. This day also marks
10 years since the euro was introduced.
(AP, 1/1/09)
2009 Jan 1, Somali pirates seized
the Blue Star, an Egyptian cargo ship, and its 28 crewmembers. A
Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker from being
hijacked in the new year's first attacks by pirates in the dangerous
Gulf of Aden. A crew of the French warship "PM L'Her" dispatch boat
intercepted two speedboats carrying 8 Somali pirates as they were
preparing to board a Panamanian cargo ship. The Blue Star and its crew
of 28 were freed on March 5 after a ransom was dropped from a plane.
(AP, 1/1/09)(AP, 1/2/09)(AP, 3/5/09)
2009 Jan 1, Helen Suzman (91),
South African anti-apartheid activist, died. She won international
acclaim as one of the few white lawmakers to fight against the
injustices of racist rule. Suzman, who was twice nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize, fought a long and lonely battle in the South African
parliament against government repression of the country's black
majority and the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela.
(AP, 1/1/09)(Econ, 1/10/09, p.77)
2009 Jan 1, Sri Lanka said its
forces have captured a key crossroads from Tamil Tiger rebels in the
north and that it will seize the guerrillas' de facto capital within
two days. The fighting killed 50 rebels and four soldiers. A roadside
bomb blast blamed on the rebels killed two policemen on a foot patrol
in the eastern region.
(AP, 1/1/09)
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