Today in History - June 29
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1236Â Â Â Â Â Â
Jun 29, In Spain Christian forces under Ferdinand III of Castile and
Leon took Cordoba. The last Islamic kingdom left in Spain is that of
the Berbers in Granada.
   (ATC, p.100)(HN, 6/29/98)
1440Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Florentine troops
fought the Milanese in the Battle of Anghiari. After the battle of
Anghiari, Andrea del Castagno (1421-1457), a Medici protege, painted
effigies of the hanged rebels.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Anghiari_(1440))(http://tinyurl.com/3baplj)
1502Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Christopher
Columbus arrived at Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, on his 4th voyage to
the new world. He requested harbor and advised Gov. Nicolas de
Ovando of an approaching hurricane. Ovando denied the request and
dispatched a treasure fleet to Spain. 20 ships sank in the storm, 9
returned to port and one made it to Spain.
   (http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/v4.htm)
1504Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Diego Mendez, one
of Columbus's captains, returned to Jamaica with a small caravel and
rescued the Columbus expedition. Mendez had managed to take a canoe
from Jamaica to Hispaniola where he chartered the rescue ship.
   (http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/v4.htm)
1520Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Montezuma II was
murdered as Spanish conquistadors fled the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlan during the night. Montezuma died from wounds inflicted
by his people. Conquistadors under Cortez plundered gold from
Aztecs.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moctezuma_II)
1534Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Jacques Cartier
discovered Canada’s Prince Edward Islands.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1540Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Thomas Cromwell,
English ex-chancellor, was sentenced to death.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1541 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Spanish
[first] crossed the Arkansas River. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado
continued to explore the American southwest. He left New Mexico and
crossed Texas, Oklahoma and east Kansas.
   (TL-MB, 1988, p.16)(HFA, '96, p.32)
1582Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Tatar forces
attacked invading Cossacks on the Tobol River but Cossack gunfire
again repelled them.
   (ON, 2/04, p.2)
1613Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Shakespeare's
Globe Theater burned down in London. It was soon rebuilt on the same
foundations.
   (USAT, 8/16/96, p.8D)(MC, 6/29/02)
1652Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Massachusetts
declared itself an independent commonwealth.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1746Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bonnie Prince
Charlie fled in disguise to Isle of Skye.
   (PC, 1992, p.297)
1767Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The British
Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts, sponsored by
statesman Charles Townshend (1725-1767), which imposed import duties
on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea shipped to America. Colonists
bitterly protested, prompting Parliament in 1770 to repeal the
duties on all goods, except tea.
   (WUD, 1994, p.1499)(HN, 6/29/98)(AP, 6/29/07)
1776Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Virginia
constitution was adopted and Patrick Henry was made governor.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1784Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Jun 29, Caesar Rodney (b.1728), US judge, Delaware representative as
a signer of the Declaration of Independence, died. He was later
depicted on the Delaware state quarter
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_Rodney)
1801Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Frederic Bastiat
(d.1850), French free-market economist, was born in Bayonne. "The
state is the great fictitious entity in which everyone seeks to live
at the expense of everyone else."
   (WSJ, 7/5/01, p.A12)
1804Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Privates John
Collins and Hugh Hall of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were found
guilty by a court-martial consisting of members of the Corps of
Discovery for getting drunk on duty. Collins receives 100 lashes on
his back and Hall receives 50.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1840Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Lucien Bonaparte
(65), prince of Canino, Musignano, died.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1852Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Statesman Henry
Clay (75) of Kentucky died. He was a master politician in the era
preceding the Civil War. Born in 1777, Clay was a lawyer by trade.
He began his lengthy political career in the Kentucky legislature
and made three unsuccessful bids as the Whig Party's presidential
candidate. By the time of his death, Clay had served his country as
secretary of state under John Quincy Adams, U.S. Senator and Speaker
of the House of Representatives. Clay was the chief architect of the
Compromise of 1850, a contribution that earned him the nickname "The
Great Compromiser."
   (HNPD, 6/29/99)(MC, 6/29/02)
1853Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Napoleon III met
with Georges-Eugene Haussmann to outline plans for the “strategic
beautification” of Paris and assigned him to modernize the city. For
the next 17 years Haussman, as prefect of the Seine, transformed
Paris. He is responsible for the tree lined grand boulevards, the
Bois de Boulogne, several railroad stations, the aqueducts, and a
tourist friendly sewer system. Haussmann employed one Parisian in
five and financed his projects using private capital raised with
bonds. The project forced some 200,000 residents from their homes.
He used surpluses in his operational budget to cover deficits in his
capital budgets. The debts paralyzed the city until the Gaullist
era.
   (WSJ, 1/17/1995, p.A-16)(SFEC, 6/28/98,
p.T9)(WSJ, 12/9/98, p.A20)(ON, 9/06, p.9)
1858Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, George Washington
Goethals, engineer of the Panama Canal, was born.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1860Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Thomas Addison
(67), English physician (A-Biermer Disease), died.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, William James
Mayo, co-founder of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, was born.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning (55), writer, died.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1861Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Australian
explorers Robert O’Hara Burke and John King left William Wills in
search of Aborigines.
   (ON, 12/01, p.5)
1862Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Union forces
continued to fall back from Richmond, but put up a fight at the
Battle of Savage’s Station on day 5 of the 7 Days Battle.
   (HN, 6/29/98)(MC, 6/29/02)
1863Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Battle at
Westminster, Maryland: Federal assault.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1863Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, George A. Custer
(23) was appointed Union Brevet Brig-general.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1863Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Lee ordered his
forces to concentrate near Gettysburg, PN.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1864Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Canada the
St-Hilaire train disaster occurred near the town of
Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. The train, which had been carrying many
German and Polish immigrants, failed to acknowledge a stop signal
and fell through an open swing bridge into the Richelieu River. The
widely accepted death toll was 99 persons.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St-Hilaire_train_disaster)
1865Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, William E. Borah,
Republican senator from Idaho, proponent of the League of Nations,
was born.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1866Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, England’s Reform
League, organized a demonstration in Trafalgar Square. Its size and
violence surprised everyone. A second meeting on 2 July was even
more heated. The Trafalgar Square meetings were followed by a giant
meeting held at Hyde Park on 23 July.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_League)
1873Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China’s Emperor
Tongzhi held the first imperial audience with foreign diplomats in
80 years. Japan’s foreign minister asked for compensation for an
attack on sailors from the Ryukyu islands by aborigines on Taiwan.
China disavowed responsibility.
   (Econ, 12/21/13, p.72)
1880Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, France annexed
Tahiti.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1881Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Muhammad Ahmad
(1844-1855) proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of
the Islamic faith in Sudan and led a successful military campaign
against the Turco-Egyptian government of the Sudan (known as the
Turkiyah).
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ahmad)
1886Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, James Van Der Zee,
African-American photographer, was born.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1888Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Professor
Frederick Treves performed the first appendectomy in England.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1889Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, Maria Mitchell
(b.1818), American astronomer, died in Lynn, Mass.
   (ON, 2/07, p.10)
1900 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Antoine de
Saint-Exupery (d.1944), French aviator and writer, was born. In 1970
Curtis Cate published the biography: “Antoine de Saint-Exupery.”
   (WUD, 1994, p.1261)(SFEC, 6/15/97, p.A2)(SFEC,
5/28/00, p.A15)(HN, 6/29/01)
1901Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Nelson Eddy,
baritone (Met opera, film star, duets with Jeanette MacDonald), was
born in Providence, RI.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1903Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The British
government officially protested Belgian atrocities in the Congo.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1905Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Archibald Wright
“Moonlight” Graham (1876-1965) of the New York Giants played for two
innings in right field in his only professional baseball game on
this day and was promptly forgotten until 1989 when the movie “Field
of Dreams” was released. “Moonlight” never got to bat, instead he
was left on deck, a late substitute in a lopsided 11-1 win. Graham
completed his medical degree from the University of Maryland in
1908. He obtained his license the following year and began
practicing medicine in Chisholm, Minnesota.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Graham)
1905Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Russian troops
intervened as riots erupt in ports all over the country, leaving
many ships looted.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1906Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Congress
enacted the Hepburn Act, which prohibited railroads from offering
discounted rates to large shippers and authorized the Interstate
Commerce Commission to set maximum freight charges for railroads.
Pres. Roosevelt had personally appealed for its passage.
   (AH, 6/07,
p.46)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepburn_Act)
1908Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, American composer
Leroy Anderson (d.1975), known for light orchestral pieces such as
"The Typewriter" and "The Syncopated Clock," was born in Cambridge,
Mass.
   (AP,
6/29/08)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_Anderson)
1910Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Frank Loesser,
songwriter, was born.
   (HN, 6/29/01)
1911Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Klaus E.J. Fuchs,
German nuclear physicist, spy, was born.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1911Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bernard Herrmann,
composer, was born.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1912Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, John Toland, US
political writer (Adolf Hitler, Rising Sun, Pulitzer 1971), was
born.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1913Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Anticipating
assistance from Austro-Hungary the Bulgarian army attacked its
former allies. This Second Balkan War was at first waged entirely on
Macedonian soil. Bulgaria defeated Greek and Serbian troops.
  Â
(www.maknews.com/html/articles/stefov/stefov61.html)
1916Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Sir Roger David
Casement, the Irish-born diplomat knighted by King George V in 1911,
was convicted of treason for his role in Ireland's Easter Rebellion,
and sentenced to death. He had been caught on an Irish beach during
a foiled attempt to 20,000 German rifles.
   (www.firstworldwar.com/bio/casement.htm)(Econ,
7/7/12, p.75)
1917Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Ukraine
proclaimed independence from Russia.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1925Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, An earthquake
ravaged Santa Barbara, California, causing millions in property
damage.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1926Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Fascists in Rome
added an hour to the work day in an economic efficiency measure.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1928Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun28-1928 Jun 29, Albert
Hegenberger and Lester Maitland accomplished the first nonstop
flight across the Pacific.
   (NPub, 2002, p.12)
1930Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Oriana Fallaci,
Italian journalist, was born.
   (HN, 6/29/01)
1932Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Siam’s army seized
Bangkok and announced an end to the absolute monarchy.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1933Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Roscoe "Fatty"
Arbuckle (46), US actor (Keystone comedies), died at the Park
Central Hotel in NYC.
   (www.2020site.org/fattyarbuckle/bio.html)(SSFC,
6/29/08, DB p.58)
1937Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Joseph-Armand
Bombardier received notification that the Canadian government had
granted his patent request for his snowmobile (une autoneige).
   (ON, 4/03, p.6)
1938Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mesa Verde
National Park, Colorado, and Olympic National Park, Washington, were
founded.
   (HN, 6/29/01)
1940Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In the Batman
Comics, mobsters rubbed out a circus highwire team known as the
Flying Graysons, leaving their son Dick (Robin) an orphan.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1940Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Paul Klee
(b.1879), Swiss-German painter, tutor (Modern Art), died in
Switzerland. In 2005 the Klee Center, designed by Renzo Piano,
opened in Bern.
   (www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/klee/)(Econ,
7/23/05, p.79)
1941Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Stokely
Carmichael, African-American civil rights leader, was born.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1941Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Nazi divisions in
a surprise assault made sweeping advances toward Leningrad, Moscow,
and Kiev. Joseph Stalin had ignored warnings that Hitler would
betray the 1939 Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact. Over 500,000 square
miles of Russian territory were taken in the first two months of the
invasion.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1941Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Polish statesman,
pianist and composer Ignace Jan Paderewski died in New York at age
80.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1943Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Germany began
withdrawing U-boats from North Atlantic in anticipation of the
Allied invasion of Europe.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Rommel and von
Rundstedt traveled to Berchtesgaden to confer with Hitler.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Russian assault
battalion opened fire on German forces on the outskirts of Bobruisk,
Belarus. As many as half of the 10,000 German soldiers were killed.
In 1962 Nikolai Litvin, a Russian soldier present that day,
completed his memoir. It was finally published in 2007 under the
title ”800 Days on the Eastern Front.”
   (WSJ, 6/30/07, p.P6)
1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Ruthenia, formerly
in Czechoslovakia, became part of Ukrainian SSR.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1946Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, British
authorities arrested more than 2,700 Jews in Palestine in an attempt
to stamp out alleged terrorism.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1949Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US troops withdrew
from Korea after WW II. [see Jun 28]
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1949Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The government of
South Africa enacted a ban against racially mixed marriages.
   (AP, 6/29/99)
1950Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, President Harry S.
Truman authorized a sea blockade of Korea.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1951Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The United States
invited the Soviet Union to the Korean peace talks on a ship in
Wonson Harbor.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1954Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Atomic Energy
Commission voted against reinstating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer's
access to classified information.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1955Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Soviet Union
sent tanks to Pozan, Poland, to put down anti-Communist
demonstrations.
   (HN, 6/29/98)
1956Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pres. Eisenhower
signed the US Federal Highway Act. It authorized a 42,500 mile
network linking major urban centers. 90% of the cost was to be born
by the federal government. Initial estimates put completion by 1968
for $25 billion. The system was completed in 1993 at a cost of $425
billion (in 2006 dollars). The Federal Highway Act included the
Highway Revenue Act as Title II and created the Highway Trust Fund
(HTF) to finance the construction.
   (SFC, 6/17/06, p.A1)(Econ, 2/16/08, p.32)(Econ,
11/19/11, p.34)
1956Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Marilyn Monroe
married playwright Arthur Miller in a London ceremony.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1956Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Charles Dumas
became the first person to jump over 7 feet.
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1958Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A bomb exploded at
the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.; there were no
injuries.
   (AP, 6/29/08)
1958Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Brazil won
its first World Cup in thrilling fashion, defeating host Sweden 5-2
in the final and in the process becoming the first team to win the
tournament outside its continent. The tournament is largely
remembered for the emergence of 17-year-old Edson Arantes do
Nascimento, aka Pele.
   (AP, 6/2/18)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Civil Rights Act
of 1964 was passed after 83-day filibuster in Senate. [see Jul 2]
   (MC, 6/29/02)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Redo Dog
Saloon opened in Virginia City, Ca. A San Francisco band called the
Charlatans opened. Architect George Hunter and keyboardist Michael
Ferguson had created the group and the first psychedelic tock poster
for the occasion. By 2015 a mint copy of the poster was valued at
$18,250. A 1996 film by Mary Works was titled “Rockin’ at the Red
Dog: The Dawn of Psychedelic Rock.”
   (SFC, 6/26/15, p.C4)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The U.S. Air Force
bombed fuel storage facilities near Hanoi and Haiphong, North
Vietnam. Republic Aircraft's F-105 Thunderchief, better known as the
'Thud,' was the Air Force's warhorse in Vietnam.
   (HN, 6/29/98)(AP, 6/29/97)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Jayne Mansfield
(b.1933), stage and film actress, was beheaded in a car crash in
Louisiana. Her 3 children survived in the back seat of the 1966
Buick Electra. Daughter Mariska Hargitay was 3 and began a film
career at 19.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayne_Mansfield)(SFEC, 7/13/97, Par
p.18)(SFEC, 4/5/98, p.A22)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Jerusalem was
reunified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from
the Israeli sector.
   (AP, 6/29/97)(HN, 6/29/98)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, "Tip-Toe Thru' The
Tulips With Me" by Tiny Tim (1932-1996), aka Herbert Khaury, peaked
at #17.
   (SFC, 12/2/96,
p.A4)(www.dreamsville.net/index.php?paged=2)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Costa Rica the
Arenal volcano, dormant for 450 years, burst into life and killed 95
people. The village of Tabacon was wiped out.
   (SFC, 5/9/98, p.A7)(SSFC, 4/1/01, p.T6)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The United States
ended a two-month military offensive into Cambodia.
   (HN, 6/29/98)(AP, 6/29/99)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty could
constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." The ruling prompted
states to revise their capital punishment laws. Four years later,
the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for murder cases.
   (AP,
6/29/97)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furman_v._Georgia)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court ruled in Branzburg v. Hayes that “The First Amendment does not
relieve a newspaper reporter of the obligation that all citizens
have to respond to a grand jury subpoena and answer questions
relevant to a criminal investigation, and therefore the Amendment
does not afford him a constitutional testimonial privilege for an
agreement he makes to conceal facts relevant to a grand jury's
investigation of a crime or to conceal the criminal conduct of his
source or evidence thereof.”
   (Econ, 4/14/07,
p.35)(www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/branzburg.html)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Fresno, Ca.,
Clarence Ray Allen (44) robbed Fran’s market. Soon after Mary Sue
Kitts (17) was murdered on orders from Allen (44) for revealing
Allen’s role in a robbery. In 1997 Allen was convicted for her
murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Allen faced execution in
2006.
   (SFC, 12/8/05, p.B3)(SFC, 1/13/06,
p.A15)(http://tinyurl.com/4s4pqp)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Russian ballet
dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected in Toronto, Canada.
  Â
(http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/dance/clips/13363/&ref=rss)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Uruguay Lt.
Miguel Dalmao (23) was in charge of the jail where Nibia
Sabalsagaray, a literature professor (24) and communist activist,
was taken from her Montevideo apartment. Hours later, she was dead.
In 2013 Gen. Dalmao was convicted of human rights violations.
   (AP,
5/9/13)(http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibia_Sabalsagaray)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Seychelles
gained independence after 165 years under British rule.
   (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A9)(SSFC, 6/1/14, p.P3)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bob Crane
(b.1928), the man who played Colonel Robert Hogan in the TV show
"Hogan’s Heroes," was found bludgeoned to death in Scottsdale, Az.
John Henry Carpenter (d.1998 at 70), a prime suspect, was tried and
acquitted in 1990.
   (SFC, 9/12/98,
p.C3)(www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/crane.htm)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The James Bond
film "Moonraker" premiered in the US.
  Â
(www.amazon.com/Moonraker-Irka-Bochenko/dp/B00004RG64)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, "Sweeney Todd"
closed at Uris Theater NYC after 557 performances.
   (www.sondheim.com/shows/sweeney_todd/#OBC_info)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Hu Yaobang, a
protege of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, was elected Communist Party
chairman, replacing Mao Tse-tung’s handpicked successor, Hua
Guofeng.
   (AP, 6/29/01)(http://tinyurl.com/39suq6)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In San Francisco
Hoffman’s Grill on Market Street closed to make way for a 19-story
office building.
   (SSFC, 6/28/09, DB p.50)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Vincent Van Gogh's
"Le Pont de Trinquetaille" brought in $20.6 million at an auction in
London, England.
   (www.artnet.com/faaddemo/vangogh/)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Elizabeth Cotton
(1895-1987), American blues singer, died in Syracuse, NY. She
composed “Freight Train” in the early 1900s when she saw a train
pass by her house on Lloyd Street in Carrboro, North Carolina. The
song was copyrighted in 1957. The first recording of the song was
made by Mike Seeger in 1957–1958, at Elizabeth’s home in Washington,
D.C.
  Â
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F6sXL4Jb_s)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Cotten)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In a surprise
move, the chairman of South Korea's ruling party, Roh Tae-woo,
demanded democratic reforms of the man he was groomed to succeed,
President Chun Doo-hwan, following weeks of violent protests that
had racked the country. Chun agreed two days later.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court, in Morrison v. Olson, upheld the power of independent
counsels in a 7-1 decision to prosecute illegal acts by high-ranking
government officials, ruling the 1978 special prosecutor law did not
violate the Constitution.
   (AP, 6/29/99)(AP, 6/29/08)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The U.S. House of
Representatives voted unanimously in favor of new sanctions against
China because of its crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.
   (AP, 6/29/99)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Fernando
Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dave Stewart of the
Oakland A’s became the first pitchers to hurl no-hitters in both the
National and American Leagues on the same day. Oakland shut out the
Blue Jays, 5-to-0, while Los Angeles blanked the St. Louis
Cardinals, 6-to-0.
   (AP, 6/29/00)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, President Bush,
speaking to reporters in Kennebunkport, Maine, refused to rule out
the possibility of renewed military action against Iraq, calling its
interference with UN inspectors "very disturbing."
   (AP, 6/29/01)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A divided US
Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to
abortion, but the justices also weakened the right as defined by the
Roe vs. Wade decision.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mohammad Boudiaf
(73), the president of Algeria, was assassinated by his body guard
during his first public appearance, in Annaba. A few seconds after
the president Mohammed Boudiaf spoke the words “We are all going to
die,” an assassin in uniform raised his submachine gun and killed
the Algerian head of state. It was his first trip outside Algiers
since he took office after a military coup in January. In the
confusion and panic that followed, 41 other people were wounded by
gunfire and grenades. Boudiaf was succeeded by army officer Liamine
Zeroual.
  Â
(http://tinyurl.com/pdcmb)(www.therace.ws/facts007.html)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The remains of
Polish statesman Ignace Jan Paderewski, interred for five decades in
the United States, were returned to his homeland in keeping with his
wish to be buried only in a free Poland.
   (AP, 6/28/02)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Serbs yielded
Serajevo airport to the UN.
   (SFC, 6/11/96, p.A14)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A one-day stock
transaction netted Sen. Alfonse D’Amato a profit of $37,125. D’Amato
was the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee and
appeared to have gotten special consideration in getting shares on
the IPO of Computer Marketplace.
   {USA, SEC}
   (SFC, 6/7/96,
p.A1)(www.congressproject.org/ethics/damstrat.html)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Joel Rifkin
pleaded innocent at an arraignment in Mineola, N.Y., to one count of
murder, a day after police found a woman's body in his pickup truck.
Rifkin, who later confessed to killing 17 women, is serving multiple
life sentences.
   (AP, 6/29/98)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Budapest,
Hungary, the Szobor Park Museum held its grand opening. It was a
collection of Communist era sculpture about 20 minutes from
Budapest.
   (WSJ, 12/27/96,
p.A5)(www.szoborpark.hu/en/en_museum_faq.php)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US reopened
Guantanamo Naval Base to process refugees.
   (http://tinyurl.com/8j53m)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In a British TV
documentary, Prince Charles said he was faithful in his marriage to
Princess Diana "until it became irretrievably broken down."
   (AP, 6/29/99)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Japan's parliament
chose Tomiichi Murayama to be the new prime minister, succeeding
Tsutoma Hata.
   (AP, 6/29/04)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Actress Lana
Turner died in Century City, California, at age 74.
   (AP, 6/29/00)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The shuttle
Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the
largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A department store
in Seoul, South Korea, collapsed, killing 501 people and injuring
more than 900.
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Sri Lanka, 12-year
old civil war continued. Nearly 150 people were killed in the
bloodiest day of the war when insurgents stormed Mandaitivu island,
not far from the rebel held Jaffna Peninsula.
   (WSJ, 6/29/95, p.A-1)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, U.S. allies backed
President Clinton's demand that Bosnian Serb leaders indicted for
war crimes be forced "out of power and out of influence."
   (AP, 6/29/97)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, "Unlimited Access:
an FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House" by Gary W. Aldrich was
recently published.
   (WP, 6/29/96, p.A14)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Biograph
Theater in Washington DC closed after 29 years of classic film
repertoire. It lost its lease and the space was scheduled to be
turned into a CVS drugstore.
   (WP, 6/29/96, p.F1)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, New York
businessman B. Thomas Golisano was considering seeking the
presidential nomination of Ross Perot’s new Reform Party. Also
considering were Ross Perot and Colorado governor Richard D. Lamm.
   (WP, 6/29/96, p.A12)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Dr. Oliver Howe
Lowry (b.1911), molecular biologist, died. He found a way to prepare
single nerve cells for study, invented a micro-balance and wrote an
early paper on the measurement of protein frequently cited in
scientific literature.
   (SFC, 7/4/96, p.A20)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Hutu rebel group
in Rwanda, People in Arms for the Liberation of Rwanda (PALIR), has
offered a $1,000 bounty for the head of every American killed in
Rwanda. A $1,500 bounty was offered for US Ambassador Robert
Gribbin. The group was unheard of until earlier this month.
   (SFC, 6/30/96, B7)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Colombia masked
gunmen killed at least 16 people in Medellin. The criminal gang
called Los Victorinos feuding with leftist urban militias was
suspected.
   (WSJ, 7/1/96, p.A1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, William Hickey
(68), acting teacher, actor (Prizzi's Honor), died of emphysema.
   (www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0763413.html)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Albania the
rival ex-Communists claimed to have beaten Pres. Berisha in the
elections. Gunmen menaced voters, burned ballots and pressured
polling officials, marring parliamentary elections meant to steer
the country toward recovery after months of chaos. Socialist Party
leader Fatos Nano claimed his leftist coalition had won 73 of 115
contested seats. Early returns on a referendum showed voters
favoring the return of would-be-king Leka Zogu. Later results showed
that the referendum was defeated by a 2:1 margin.
   (WSJ, 6/30/97, p.A1)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A10)(SFC,
7/4/97, p.A12)(AP, 6/29/98)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq in the
Asian Group 9 World Cup soccer qualifying competition the Iraqi team
was beaten a 2nd time by Kazakhstan. This inflamed Odai Hussein, son
of Saddam and head of the Iraqi soccer federation. He had the team
imprisoned and tortured. It was also reported that Odai had killed
woman after an abortive attempt at having sex.
   (SFC, 7/26/97, p.A13)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, With negotiations
on a new labor agreement at a standstill, the NBA announced that a
lockout would be imposed at midnight.
   (AP, 6/29/99)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, It was reported
that Mike Corbin had begun manufacturing the single-seat Sparrow,
3-wheel vehicle in Hollister, Ca. The 960 pound electric vehicle was
designed for a range of 60 miles on a single charge with a top speed
of 60 mph. It was priced at $12,900.
   (SFC, 6/29/98, p.A17)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Students at Peking
University peppered President Clinton with polite but critical
questions about America's human rights record, Taiwan policy and
views on China in an exchange televised live across the vast nation.
In Beijing US corporations announced major sales agreements with
China worth nearly $2 billion.
   (SFC, 6/30/98, p.A8)(AP, 6/29/08)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Serbian troops
opened a series of attacks in Kosovo in the mining town of Belacevac
and Lapushnik. Albanian KLA rebels had taken over the huge open mine
pit at Belacevac last week.
   (SFC, 6/30/98, p.A8)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Urging the biggest
expansion in Medicare’s history, President Clinton proposed that the
government help older Americans pay for prescription drugs.
   (AP, 6/29/00)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, James Hormel was
sworn in as ambassador to Luxembourg. He was the first openly gay US
ambassador.
   (SFC, 6/30/99, p.A3)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US independent
council law under the 1978 Ethics in Government Act expired at
midnight.
   (SFC, 6/30/99, p.A3)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Chechnya
Russian security forces freed Herbert Gregg (51), an American
missionary kidnapped over 7 months ago. Part of his index finger had
been cut off in an attempt to extort ransom.
   (SFC, 6/30/99, p.A8)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In China
Volkswagen won approval to build its own car in a joint venture with
Shanghai Automotive Ind. Corp. to sell for about $12,000.
   (WSJ, 6/30/99, p.A19)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Kashmir Indian
fighters raided 13 guerrilla positions at Point 4700 and at least 40
people were killed, 25 of them Indians.
   (SFC, 6/30/99, p.A9)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Mexico City
armed gunmen stole a $50,000 military payroll and killed an army
colonel and a lieutenant 2 blocks from the residence of Pres.
Zedillo.
   (SFC, 6/30/99, p.A9)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Cacak, Serbia,
thousands gathered to protest against Pres. Milosevic. Opposition
Mayor Velimir Ilic returned for the rally after hiding for 43 days
from Yugoslav military patrols. Ten-thousand demonstrators rallied
in central Serbia, demanding the resignation of President Slobodan
Milosevic.
   (SFC, 6/30/99, p.A8)(AP, 6/29/00)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Turkey the
court on Imrali Island sentenced Abdullah Ocalan to death on charges
of treason. European governments urged Turkey not to carry out the
death sentence.
   (SFC, 6/29/99, p.A8)(SFC, 6/30/99, p.A8)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, President Clinton
nominated former Congressman Norman Mineta to lead the Commerce
Department and become the first Asian-American Cabinet secretary.
   (AP, 6/29/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, John Hopkins
cancer researchers reported that the experimental substance C75, a
potential weight-loss drug, suppressed appetite but not metabolism.
   (WSJ, 6/30/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Actor Vittorio
Gassman died in Rome at age 77.
   (AP, 6/29/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Indonesia the
ferry Cahaya Bahari was feared to have sunk with 492 passengers
killing all but ten known survivors. The ship left Tobelo on
Halmahera in North Maluku and was bound for Manado in North Sulawesi
with many fleeing sectarian violence.
   (SFC, 6/30/00, p.A16)(AP, 6/29/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iraq said US and
British warplanes bombed North Rumeila and killed a woman shepherd
and injured her husband.
   (SFC, 6/30/00, p.A18)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The OAS said it
would set up a permanent office in Lima, Peru, to oversee democratic
reforms.
   (SFC, 6/30/00, p.A18)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Sierra Leone 21
UN peacekeepers were freed by rebels and arrived in Liberia.
   (SFC, 6/30/00, p.A18)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Vice President
Dick Cheney, experiencing heart problems for the 3rd time since the
November election, announced he was going back to the hospital. He
expected doctors to implant a pacemaker to even out a rapid
heartbeat.
   (AP, 6/29/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The National
Japanese American Memorial opened in Washington DC. It was privately
funded by 20,000 Japanese Americans.
   (SFC, 6/30/01, p.A1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In China a new
$2.4 billion 700-mile railway project was begun to connect Lhasa,
Tibet, to the Chinese interior.
   (SSFC, 7/1/01, p.A18)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Hezbollah attack
injured 2 Israelis in a disputed border area.
   (WSJ, 7/2/01, p.A1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Indonesia
security forces killed 20 separatist rebels during a gun battle in
Aceh.
   (SFC, 6/30/01, p.A10)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Okinawa a woman
claimed that she was raped by an American. US Air Force sergeant
Timothy B. Woodland was later charged. Sgt. Woodland was handed over
to Japanese authorities on July 6. Woodland was convicted Mar 27 and
was sentenced to 32 months in prison.
   (WSJ, 7/2/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 7/3/01, p.A1)(SFC,
7/3/01, p.A7)(SFC, 7/7/01, p.A1)(SFC, 3/28/02, p.A1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Kofi Annan swore
himself in for a 2nd 5-year term as UN Sec.-Gen.
   (SFC, 6/30/01, p.A10)(AP, 6/29/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Zimbabwe published
a new list of 2,030 white farm properties to be nationalized and
handed over to landless blacks.
   (SFC, 6/30/01, p.A10)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, President Bush
transferred presidential powers to Vice President Dick Cheney for
more than two hours during a routine colon screening that ended in a
clean bill of health.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Rosemary Clooney
(74), singer who became one of Hollywood's biggest celebrities of
the 1950s, died on in her Beverly Hills mansion due to complications
from lung cancer. Her 1977 autobiography was titled "This for
Remembrance."
   (Reuters, 6/30/02)(SSFC, 6/30/02, p.A20)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Ethiopia the
army declared an important victory over rebels in western Ethiopia,
killing 20 and capturing more than 200 others. But rebels rejected
those claims, vowing to continue their fight.
   (AP, 6/29/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Francois Perier
(82), a prolific and acclaimed actor whose presence on the French
stage and screen spanned three generations, died.
   (AP, 6/29/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A bomb exploded at
the port of Piraeus, Greece, and injured Savvas Xiros, a reputed
member of the November 17 terrorist group.
   (SFC, 7/5/02, p.A9)(SFC, 7/19/02, p.A14)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In India PM
Vajpayee named Lal Krishna Advani, a Hindu hardliner, as his deputy.
   (WSJ, 7/1/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Israeli army
ended a four-day siege of a Palestinian police headquarters by
blowing up the hilltop compound where about 15 suspected militants
had taken refuge. 2 Palestinians died in clashes with Israeli
soldiers.
   (Reuters, 6/29/02)(SSFC, 6/30/02, p.A14)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel's Defense
Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer called for the immediate dismantling
of 10 illegal outposts in the West Bank.
   (AP, 6/29/02)(SSFC, 6/30/02, p.A14)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A South Korean
patrol boat was sunk in the yellow Sea border waters and four South
Koreans were killed with 22 wounded. North and South Korea blamed
each other for the sea battle which cast a shadow over the South's
World Cup finale as well as reconciliation efforts on the peninsula.
   (SSFC, 6/30/02, p.A14)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pakistan issued a
"most wanted" list of 10 suspected Islamic militants and offered big
rewards for their capture in connection with the killing of U.S.
reporter Daniel Pearl and the bombing of Western targets.
   (Reuters, 6/29/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Somalia's
transitional government formally called for the U.N. Security
Council to send an armed force to the Horn of Africa nation.
   (AP, 6/29/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Venezuela over
100,000 people rallied in support of President Hugo Chavez's
so-called "peaceful and democratic revolution."
   (AP, 6/29/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Zimbabwe Dr.
Roy Raub, a retired American doctor, was killed in an apparent
carjacking.
   (SFC, 7/2/02, p.A9)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, SF held its 33rd
annual SF Gay Pride parade on Market St.
   (SSFC, 6/28/03, p.A2)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Chicago a
wooden third-floor porch packed with dozens of friends in their
early 20s collapsed, killing 12 people as it pancaked onto porches
below.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Joseph Parker
(30), a bagger at Albertson's in Irvine, Ca.,, killed 2 people with
a sword before police fatally shot him.
   (SFC, 6/30/03, p.B4)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bernard A.
Goldhirsh (b.1940), founder of Inc. Magazine, died of brain cancer.
He sold Inc. after his diagnosis in 2000 and gave $20 million to his
employees and put $50 million into the Goldhirsh Foundation.
   (www.goldhirshfoundation.org/biography.htm)(WSJ,
7/20/06, p.B1)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Katharine Hepburn
(b.1907), film actress, died at Old Saybrook, Conn. Her Oscars were
for "Morning Glory" (1933); "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967);
"The Lion in Winter" (1968); and "On Golden Pond" (1981). Her books
included "Me: Stories from My Life" (1991). In 2006 William J. Mann
authored “Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn.”
   (AP, 6/30/03)(SFC, 6/30/03, p.A11)(SFC, 10/5/06,
p.E1)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Bangladesh
monsoon floods claimed 45 lives in the past four days, washing away
many houses and displacing thousands of villagers.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Warring sides in
Congo agreed on the formation of a unified military.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder announced a plan to bring forward tax cuts worth
about $20.6 billion, a move that could inject new life into Europe's
largest economy.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Hong Kong and
China signed a free-trade agreement, the Closer Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA).
   (AP, 6/29/03)(Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.11)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq US forces
launched a massive operation to crush insurgents and capture senior
figures from the ousted regime.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The militant Hamas
and Islamic Jihad groups agreed to suspend attacks against Israel
for three months.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Transportation
across South Korea was disrupted as railway workers opposed to a
government privatization plan went on strike for a second day.
   (AP, 6/29/03)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court blocked a law meant to shield Web-surfing children from online
pornography.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The International
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
(popularly known as the International Seed Treaty) came into force.
   (http://practicalaction.org/seed_treaty)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Ecuador 33
prisoners, some armed with assault rifles and knives, battled their
way out the front door of Quito's main prison in an escape that left
4 inmates and a guard dead
   (AP, 6/29/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israeli forces
countered a Palestinian rocket attack with tanks and missiles in
northern Gaza. One Palestinian was killed.
   (USAT, 6/29/04, p.12A)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A UN helicopter
crashed in Sierra Leone and all 24 aboard were killed.
   (WSJ, 6/30/04, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, President Bush,
embracing nearly all the recommendations of a White House
commission, said he was creating a national security service at the
FBI to specialize in intelligence as part of a shake-up of the
disparate US spy agencies.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Manhattan a new
design, by architect David M. Childs, was unveiled for the Freedom
Tower.
   (WSJ, 6/30/05, p.B1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US military
said it sent a ship to Africa's oil-rich Gulf of Guinea to train
west African nations to combat threats including terrorism, drug
trafficking and petroleum theft.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A state dept.
officials said the US has suspended a shipment of M-16 rifles to
Nepal to protest at King Gyanendra's takeover in February.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A propaganda
video, purportedly made by al-Qaida-linked terror suspect Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, was posted on militant Web sites. It showed suicide
attacks against US soldiers and Iraqi forces and emphasizes that the
war being waged by Iraqi insurgents is in retaliation for America's
war against Islam.
   (AP, 7/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Kunar province,
Afghanistan, 4 US Navy SEAL commandos radioed for help during a
reconnaissance mission for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, that was
part of Operation Red Wing. A US Chinook helicopter with 16 men
responded to the call and was shot down. Marcus Luttrell was rescued
by US forces on July 2. In 2007 Luttrell, the only survivor,
authored “Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing
and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10.” Michael Murphy, a Navy Seal
who gave his life to call for help for his unit, was awarded the
Medal of Honor in 2007.
   (AP, 6/29/05)(SFC, 7/7/05, p.A14)(WSJ, 10/23/07,
p.A1)(WSJ, 10/27/07, p.A9)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In central
Afghanistan Taliban militants attacked police checkpoints and a
village, and the fighting left 25 people dead, including tribal
elders who were taken hostage.
   (AP, 7/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Haiti hundreds
of UN peacekeepers raided a slum filled with gangs loyal to ousted
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, killing six gunmen.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, In Haiti a worker
for the International Committee of the Red Cross was kidnapped. Joel
Cauvin, a Haitian, was abducted and found dead near his home the
next day.
   (AP, 7/1/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The EU gave Italy
until the end of 2007 to cut its budget deficit in line with
euro-zone rules, a warning that is powerless as it carries no
punishment.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In India 2 workers
were killed and up to 12 others were believed trapped after a tunnel
they were building to bring water to a village north of Bombay
collapsed in a landslide triggered by heavy rain.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Extremist
opponents of Israel's Gaza pullout plan scattered nails and oil
across a main highway during morning rush hour, bringing traffic to
a halt in the first of a wave of violent demonstrations planned
throughout the day.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Some 400 would-be
immigrants from Africa landed on Lampedusa, a tiny Italian island
south of Sicily, and air patrols spotted at least 200 more on their
way.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Lebanon’s
anti-Syrian lawmakers nominated Fuad Saniora, a former finance
minister known for his pro-market policies, to be the country's next
prime minister.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Hezbollah
guerrillas attacked Israeli forces in a disputed part of the south
Lebanon border, wounding six soldiers and triggering an Israeli
airstrike. The Israeli strike killed Hezbollah guerrilla Milhem
Hassan Salhab (35).
   (AP, 6/30/05)(AP, 7/4/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Malaysia Hamisa
Abu Hassan Saari (22) was arrested after police found some drugs on
a friend. A police officer secretly recorded her with a cell phone
as she was forced to strip and do squats, though she had no drugs.
The recording got on the Internet and led to a special commission
that denounced the police procedures and led to significant changes.
   (SFC, 11/23/06, p.A34)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mexico released a
series of five stamps depicting a child character from a comic book
started in the 1940s that is still published in Mexico. The stamps
depicted an exaggerated black cartoon character known as Memin
Pinguin.
   (AP, 6/30/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Poles lined up to
buy collectors' coins with the image of the late Pope John Paul II,
issued by the central bank to honor Poland's most famous son.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas asked Hamas militants to join his Cabinet to improve
prospects of a peaceful takeover of the Gaza Strip.
   (AP, 7/2/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Philippine Pres.
Gloria Macagapal Arroyo said her husband, implicated in bribes and
influence peddling, has agreed to leave the Philippines.
   (WSJ, 6/30/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Russian court
ordered the radical national Bolshevik Party, led by
ultranationalist writer Eduard Limonov, to disband.
   (WSJ, 6/30/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In the southern
Russian region of Karachayevo-Cherkessiya about 200 ethnic minority
activists occupied the regional government headquarters, demanding
urgent action to save their dwindling population. Members of the
tiny Abazin minority have demanded that the 13 villages where they
live be united in a single district with its own financing. There
were fewer than 30,000 Abazins left in existence, all of them in
Karachayevo-Cherkessiya.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Two Rwandan
businessmen were found guilty of war crimes by a 12-person jury in
Brussels for their role in the killings of thousands during their
country's 1994 genocide. Beer trader Etienne Nzabonimana, 53, was
found guilty on 56 counts, and his half brother, Samuel
Ndashyikirwa, 43, was found guilty on 23 counts of aiding and
abetting the slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in their home
region of Kibungo.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, More than 1,000
South Korean sex workers rallied demanding recognition as legitimate
members of society and the withdrawal of an anti-prostitution law
they say threatens their livelihoods and their health.
   (Reuters, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A UN team of
experts called for an international tribunal to prosecute
Indonesia’s security forces and militia during its bloodstained exit
from East Timor in 1999.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Vietnam said it
would begin in August vaccinating poultry nationwide against bird
flu.
   (SFC, 6/30/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The UN World Food
Program in Zambia said lack of funds will soon force it to slash
rations and reduce the number of vulnerable women and children on
food aid.
   (AP, 6/29/05)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, President George
W. Bush welcomed PM Junichiro Koizumi as a good friend and thanked
Japan for support in Iraq and handling common threats like terrorism
and North Korea.
   (Reuters, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court rebuked President Bush and his anti-terror policies, ruling
that his plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals
violates US and international law. President Bush suggested he would
seek Congress' approval to proceed with trying terrorism suspects
before military tribunals.
   (AP, 6/30/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US State
Department said it had notified the Congress of plans to sell F-16
fighter jets to Pakistan in a multibillion-dollar deal with Lockheed
Martin Corp.
   (Reuters, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A US federal
advisory committee recommended that all 11-12 year-old girls receive
immunization with Merck’s Gardasil, a new vaccine to prevent
cervical cancer.
   (SFC, 6/30/06, p.A1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US government
announced it had recovered a stolen laptop computer and hard drive
with sensitive data on up to 26.5 million veterans and military
personnel.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Newark, NJ, a
district judge sentenced Andrew Mantovani (24) to 2 years and 8
months in prison for operating the largest online marketplace for
stolen credit card and debit card information. Mantovani of
Scottsdale, Ariz., was co-founder of Shadowcrew, one of a number of
online bazaars for stolen personal information. To date 18
Shadowcrew members had pleaded guilty.
   (WSJ, 7/3/06, p.B5)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Federal
Reserved raised interest rates for the 17th consecutive time by a
quarter point to 5.25%. The move sparked a 217 point rise in the
DJIA as Wall Street sensed a softened stance on future rate
increases.
   (SFC, 6/30/06, p.D1)(WSJ, 6/30/06, p.A1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US FDA
approved the sale of Celgene’s Revlimid for use in combination with
dexamethasone in patients with multiple myeloma. Celgene said it
would sell the drug for $6,195 a month.
   (WSJ, 7/1/06, p.A4)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Arkansas
Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas cannot ban gays from becoming
foster parents, because there is no link between their sexual
orientation and a child’s well-being.
   (SFC, 6/30/06, p.A20)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, California Gov.
Schwarzenegger announced a $35 million aid package for salmon
fisherman, affected by a federal near-closure of commercial fishing.
   (SFC, 6/30/06, p.B1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The tribal council
of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota impeached Cecilia Fire
Thunder for soliciting donations for an abortion clinic without
council approval. The Council replaced her with Alex White Plume.
   (AP, 6/30/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Tenet Healthcare
announced a $900 million settlement with federal officials to end
investigations into alleged overbilling of Medicare.
   (SFC, 6/30/06, p.D2)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Google Inc.
introduced an online payment service to rival PayPal.
   (SFC, 6/29/06, p.C1)(www.google.com/)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, East Coast rains,
which began over the weekend, have been blamed for five deaths in
Pennsylvania, four in Maryland, one in Virginia and three in New
York.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Trade ministers
struggled for a breakthrough in deadlocked global free trade talks
as the US and EU accused each other of failing to come up with the
necessary concessions.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Argentina’s
President Nestor Kirchner met Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales and
agreed to a 47% price hike for the Bolivian natural gas Argentina
needs to fuel South America's second-largest economy.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Brazil's Supreme
Court ordered the release of Regivaldo Pereira Galvao, a rancher who
had been jailed pending trial in connection with the killing last
year of American Nun Dorothy Stang.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, PM Tony Blair said
Britain will shut down Northern Ireland's legislature and forge a
stronger partnership with the Irish government if the province's
Catholic and Protestant politicians fail to reach a power-sharing
deal by Nov. 24.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Delegates to the
annual conference of the British Medical Association voted against
the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia
in Britain.
   (AFP, 6/30/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Canadian and US
authorities said they have cracked a smuggling network that used
aircraft and delivery spots in remote western parks to ship tons of
drugs over the border.
   (Reuters, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, After a two-year
search among more than 300,000 candidates nationwide, Colombia
unveiled the new Juan Valdez, Carlos Castaneda (39), as the
country's iconic coffee ambassador to the world.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China’s government
said Vice Adm. Wang Shouye (62), a deputy commander of China's navy,
has been dismissed and stripped of a seat in parliament for
corruption, one of the most senior military figures to be punished
in a multiyear crackdown on rampant graft.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Honduras officials
said floods caused by heavy rains have left four people dead, forced
1,500 others from their homes and caused more than $8 million in
damage to croplands.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Indonesia
Playboy magazine's editor-in-chief and first centerfold model were
formally named by police as suspects in an indecency case against
the publication.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq a trash
collector and the head of security for Baghdad University were
slain. At least six other deaths were reported in Baghdad, including
two merchants, a baker, an electrical worker and a woman sitting in
her car with three of her sons, who were wounded. Police also found
the body of a man who had been blindfolded, handcuffed and shot in
the head in western Baghdad. Police in Kirkuk found the body of a
15-year-old girl who had been kidnapped five days ago. Iraqi and
US-led coalition forces clashed with gunmen northeast of Baghdad
after armed Shiites attacked a convoy of Sunni villagers in
retaliation for a suicide attack. Snipers killed the head of the
force, Col. Sami Abbas Hassan, and his two bodyguards. US and Iraqi
forces, backed by air support, tried to restore calm, engaging in a
fierce gunbattle that left three fighters dead and three wounded. A
US soldier died in small arms fire in Mosul.
   (AP, 6/29/06)(AP, 6/30/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israeli troops
rounded up 27 Palestinian ministers and lawmakers from the ruling
Hamas party, including the deputy prime minister, while forging
ahead with a military campaign in Gaza meant to win the release of
an Israeli soldier held by Hamas gunmen. Palestinian militants
detonated a land mine near the border with Egypt, blowing open a
large hole in a wall near the border. Israeli aircraft fired on a
car carrying suspected Palestinian militants in Gaza City. One
person was wounded. A missing 62-year-old man that Palestinian
militants claimed to have kidnapped was found dead, apparently of
natural causes. A Palestinian militant group said it killed an
18-year-old Israeli settler kidnapped earlier in the West Bank.
Pro-Palestinian hackers shut down hundreds of Israeli Web sites as
Israeli troops invaded southern Gaza after the abduction of an
Israeli soldier.
   (AP, 6/29/06)(SFC, 6/29/06, p.A1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Women in Kuwait
voted in parliamentary elections for the first time, a vote that
also inspired surprisingly vocal calls for reform and criticism of
the ruling family. The elections were a victory for political
reformists but a disappointment for female candidates, none of whom
won a seat. The opposition won a big majority.
   (AP, 6/29/06)(AP, 6/30/06)(Econ, 7/8/06, p.40)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mexican police
found a human head by the main entrance to Acapulco’s City Hall, the
fourth such grisly discovery this year.
   (AP, 6/30/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Four Pakistani men
were hanged for gang-raping a Christian woman at gunpoint during a
1999 robbery.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Romania's PM Calin
Popescu Tariceanu proposed withdrawing 890 troops from Iraq because
of high casualty levels and the cost of the operation.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The hard-line
Muslim leaders who have seized control of much of southern Somalia
claimed authority throughout the country in yet another blow to the
largely powerless but internationally recognized interim government.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Spain officially
announced the start of peace negotiations with the Basque separatist
group ETA after formally informing parliament, and PM Zapatero
warned that talks to end decades of bloodshed would be long and
difficult.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Ukraine's
opposition party prevented members of a newly formed ruling
coalition from taking their seats in parliament, stopping a vote on
returning ousted PM Yulia Tymoshenko to her former job.
   (AP, 6/29/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The new UN Human
Rights Council overrode Canadian and Russian objections and passed a
declaration to protect the rights of indigenous peoples around the
world. The declaration asserted that indigenous peoples may have a
right to restitution of land and resources taken from them. The
Council also unanimously approved an international treaty that would
ban states from abducting perceived enemies and hiding them in
secret prisons or killing them.
   (AP, 6/29/06)(Reuters, 6/30/06)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court said it will claims of Guantanamo detainees that they have a
right to challenge their detentions in American federal courts.
   (SFC, 6/30/07, p.A3)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Michael Moore’s
film “Sicko,” a critical look at the US health care system, opened.
   (SFC, 6/30/07, p.C1)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Apple iPhone
went on sale across the US.
   (SFC, 6/30/07, p.C1)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Harry B. Henshel
(b.1919), former president of Bulova Watch Co. (1959-1976), died in
Scarsdale, NY.
   (WSJ, 1/7/07, p.A4)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, George McCorkle
(60), a founding member of the Marshall Tucker Band, died.
   (AP, 6/29/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Joel Siegel (63),
American movie critic, died.
   (AP, 6/29/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Edward Yang
(b.1947), who won best director in 2000 at the Cannes Film Festival
and was known for his realistic portrayals of modern Taiwan, died at
his home in California of complications from colon cancer.
   (AP, 7/1/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Afghan and foreign
troops killed four men in anti-Taliban raids in the eastern province
of Nangarhar. A villager said the dead were innocent people: a
father, two sons and a nephew from the same family. Police reported
that four Taliban were killed and two policemen were injured in two
clashes, one in Zabul and one in Paktia. In southern Afghanistan
US-led coalition airstrikes left at least 30 people, including women
and children, killed or wounded. In the southern Sangin district. An
investigation the next day found that 62 insurgents had been killed.
Afghan officials also said that 45 civilians were killed. NATO-led
and Afghan troops clashed with Taliban fighters, leaving 15
militants dead. 3 children were killed and another wounded when an
old rocket they were playing with exploded in Zabul province.
   (AFP, 6/29/07)(AP, 6/30/07)(AP, 7/1/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Minsk
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for a strategic partnership
with Belarus, calling his counterpart a "brother-in-arms" and
lamenting the pressure he said the US was putting on Minsk and
Caracas.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Brazilian
authorities began a 3-day raid an Amazon plantation where more than
1,000 laborers were found working 13-hour days, in horrendous
conditions, cutting sugar cane for ethanol production.
   (AP, 7/3/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, British police
thwarted a devastating terrorist plot, discovering two Mercedes
loaded with nails packed around canisters of propane and gasoline
set to detonate and kill possibly hundreds in London's crowded
theater and nightclub district. On Dec 16, 2008, Bilal Abdulla (29),
an Iraqi doctor who claimed he intended only to frighten Britons,
was convicted of conspiracy to murder with car bombs in London and
Scotland.
   (AP, 6/30/07)(AP, 12/16/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Britain's first
postal strike in more than a decade was triggered by a row over pay
and government plans to cut thousands of jobs. Union bosses claimed
the 24-hour walkout would be carried out by up to 130,000 workers.
   (AFP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Police closed a
stretch of Canada's busiest highway and officials closed the
country's main east-west rail line on fears that a native day of
action could turn violent and disruptive.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China enacted law
meant to improve workers' rights, capping a round of unprecedented
legislation by the communist government that included input from
foreign companies and the Chinese public. A French-educated
scientist was named China's health minister, becoming only the 2nd
noncommunist appointed to the Cabinet since the 1970s. Beijing
banned ten types of drugs for exaggerated effectiveness amid rising
concerns of fake and tainted products in China's food and drug
supply chains.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Egypt 33
students from Cairo's Ain Shams University were detained at a
holiday camp in Alexandria and charged with holding a meeting "aimed
at propagating the Muslim Brothers' ideology."
   (AFP, 6/30/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Germany and
Denmark agreed to build an 11-mile bridge spanning the waters
between the two nations and cut travel times between Scandinavia and
central Europe.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A German court
convicted nurse Irene Becker (54) of murdering five patients at a
top Berlin hospital with overdoses of medication, sentencing her to
life in prison. Becker had argued she'd wanted to ease the suffering
of some of the patients.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, At least six Iraqi
soldiers were killed and five wounded when a suicide truck bomb
exploded at their army post north of Baghdad. Two civilians were
also killed in a barrage of gunfire that followed. A bomb exploded
under an oil pipeline south of Baghdad, spilling crude oil and
sparking a huge fire. US forces found around 40 bodies, bound and
shot, in a fresh mass grave south of Fallujah. A US soldier was and
three wounded when a sophisticated, armor-piercing bomb hit their
combat patrol in southern Baghdad.
   (AP, 6/29/07)(AFP, 6/30/07)(AP, 6/30/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israeli President
Moshe Katsav resigned as part of a much-criticized plea bargain that
dropped planned rape charges and the threat of jail time.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A plane carrying
Ivory Coast's PM Guillaume Soro came under heavy gunfire as it
landed at an airport in a northern region dominated by rebels allied
with the leader. 3 rockets killed four of his team and wounded 14
others.
   (AP, 6/29/07)(Econ, 7/21/07, p.48)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Lebanon
government soldiers shot at angry Palestinian demonstrators trying
to march home to their besieged camp, and two people were reported
killed and 29 wounded.
   (AP, 6/30/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Laura Bush wrapped
up a tour of Africa by visiting a school and sitting in on a math
class in Mali, saying she was impressed by education efforts in the
country.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A top official
said the UN nuclear watchdog and North Korea have reached an
agreement on how the agency will monitor and verify shutdown of the
country's main nuclear reactor.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In southwestern
Pakistan hungry victims of monsoon-spawned floods rioted, protesting
slow, meager aid reaching their marooned villages where many feared
the receding waters would yield numerous bodies. Pakistani police
fired tear gas to disperse a protest by some of the 1.1 million
victims of a cyclone, as fresh storms hit India and flooded villages
awaiting help in Afghanistan. The death toll rose to about 500.
   (AP, 6/29/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mercosur, South
America’s biggest trade block (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay,
Uruguay), held a presidential summit in Asuncion, Paraguay.
   (Econ, 7/7/07, p.40)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Gaza City a
Mickey Mouse look-alike who preached Islamic domination on a
Hamas-affiliated children's television program was beaten to death
in the show's final episode by an actor posing as an Israeli
official trying to buy his land.
   (AP, 6/29/07)(SFC, 6/30/07, p.A9)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Spanish
researchers said they had unearthed a human tooth more than one
million years old, which they estimated to be the oldest human
fossil remain ever discovered in western Europe.
   (AFP, 6/29/07)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US researchers
reported that a drug called lodamin, developed using nanotechnology
and a fungus that contaminated a lab experiment, may be broadly
effective against a range of cancers.
   (Reuters, 6/30/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A helicopter
ferrying a patient with a medical emergency from the Grand Canyon
collided into another chopper carrying a patient near a northern
Arizona hospital, leaving six people dead and critically injuring a
nurse.
   (AP, 6/30/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In southwestern
Afghanistan US-led troops backed by warplanes battled militants,
killing 28 rebels including several Taliban leaders in Nimroz
province. The Afghan interior ministry however put the death toll at
15. NATO said an explosion in southern Afghanistan killed one of its
soldiers. A mother and three of her sons died when a bomb the men
were allegedly constructing exploded in their home in Wardak
province. 2 militants were killed in a clash with Afghan soldiers in
Helmand province. An army vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in
Paktia province killing two Afghan soldiers. 3 coalition soldiers
were killed when their vehicle rolled into a riverbed in Kandahar
province.
   (AP, 6/29/08)(AP, 6/30/08)(AFP, 6/30/08)(SFC,
7/1/08, p.A9)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Britain’s
Glastonbury music festival, begun in 1970, wrapped up with a double
bill of golden oldies following controversy over its first ever
hip-hop headliner, Jay-Z, and troubled star Amy Winehouse.
   (AFP, 6/29/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The bound and
battered bodies of Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were
found in a burning ground-floor bedsit (studio) in New Cross,
southeast London. Bonomo was stabbed nearly 200 times while Ferez
suffered around 50 wounds during a prolonged ordeal. The two
scholars, both biochemists from a university in Clermont-Ferrand,
central France, were on a short exchange program at London's
Imperial College. On July 7 Nigel Edward Farmer (33) turned himself
in at a London police station. On July 10 London police arrested a
5th suspect, Daniel Sonnex (23), over the brutal stabbing murders.
Police were also questioning a 35-year-old man and a 25-year-old
woman about the killings. Another man had been arrested but was
released without charge.
   (AFP, 7/3/08)(AP, 7/6/08)(AP, 7/10/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Cameroon prison
guards killed 16 inmates trying to escape from a jail in Douala, the
country's commercial capital. The overcrowded prison was built in
the 1930s to hold about 800 inmates, but has at least twice that
number.
   (AP, 6/30/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In France a
shooting at a military show injured 17 people when real bullets were
used instead of blanks. Gen. Bruno Cuche, the head of France's army,
resigned following the shooting.
   (AP, 7/1/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Germany Bettina
Schardt (79) committed suicide using a formula of antimalarial drugs
tranquilizers provided by Dr. Roger Kusch. She did not want to move
into a nursing home and asked Mr. Kusch for a way out.
  Â
(www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/europe/03germany.html)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In India at least
39 members of an elite anti-insurgency unit were missing feared
drowned in eastern Orissa state after their boat capsized following
an attack by Maoist rebels. A blast at a crowded roadside market in
the restive northeast killed six people and injured 40.
   (AFP, 6/29/08)(AP, 6/29/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In India several
hundred gay rights supporters took to the streets of Calcutta,
Bangalore and New Delhi to call for an end to discrimination in a
society where intolerance is widespread. The marches came days
before the Delhi High Court is expected to hear arguments on
overturning Section 377 of the penal code, a law against homosexual
sex that dates to the British colonial era with punishment of up to
10 years in prison.
   (AP, 6/29/08)(Econ, 7/5/08, p.51)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A truck bomb, in
Duluiyah 45 miles north of Baghdad, detonated by remote control
killing six policemen and a member of a local group of Sunni
volunteers who have turned against the insurgents. Awakening council
members opened fire on a would-be female suicide bomber, triggering
her explosives belt, as she approached their headquarters 25 miles
northeast of Baqouba. In separate violence near Baqouba, mortars
killed two women and a child 40 miles north of the city in al-Udaim.
   (AP, 6/29/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel's Cabinet
overwhelmingly voted in favor of a deal with Hezbollah to swap a
notorious Lebanese prisoner for two captured soldiers who were
declared dead earlier in the day. Israel would release Samir Kantar,
imprisoned for a 1979 attack etched in the Israeli psyche as one of
the cruelest in the nation's history. Israel reopened its border
crossings with the Gaza Strip to allow a trickle of goods into the
territory.
   (AP, 6/29/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Malaysia's de
facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim took refuge at the Turkish
embassy due to fears he could be assassinated after fresh
accusations of sodomy.
   (AP, 6/29/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Mongolia high
voter turnout capped a campaign between the two major parties for 76
seats in the Great Khural (Hural). The Democrats and the MPRP,
Mongolia's ruling party, won as many as 45 seats in the
parliamentary election contested over how to share more of the
country's natural wealth.
   (AP, 6/30/08)(SFC, 6/30/08, p.A3)(Econ, 7/5/08,
p.56)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pakistan's
government claimed that it had saved the northwestern city of
Peshawar from militants, as troops pushed forward on the second day
of a major offensive against the rebels.
   (AFP, 6/29/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In the central
Philippines heavy rains have triggered a landslide that killed at
least four people and injured 26 others.
   (AP, 6/30/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In South Korea
protesters fought riot police at a rally opposing the resumption of
American beef imports, hours after the chief US diplomat vouched for
the health of US cattle. Police refused to allow more candlelight
protests after clashes left over 200 people injured.
   (AP, 6/29/08)(WSJ, 6/30/08, p.A8)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Spain’s soccer
team beat Germany 1-0 to win the Euro 2008 finals.
  Â
(www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/30/tvratings.television?gusrc=rss&feed=media)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Sri Lanka army
troops took control of about 46 square miles of rebel-held territory
in the Mannar region. Soldiers killed 13 rebels in clashes in the
Welioya region. Another 13 rebels and two soldiers were killed in
battles in Mannar and Vavuniya districts.
   (AP, 6/30/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Zimbabwe
according to official results President Robert Mugabe (84) won an
overwhelming victory in the discredited, violence-wracked runoff
election. On BBC TV Archbishop Desmond Tutu said there is "a very
good argument" for sending an international force into Zimbabwe if
diplomatic pressure fails to sweep away President Robert Mugabe.
   (AP, 6/29/08)(AFP, 6/29/08)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were
unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a
decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an
appeals court judge.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bernard Madoff
(71) was sentenced in NYC to 150 years in prison for his
multibillion-dollar fraud scheme.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, It was reported
that a grasshopper invasion was under way in Utah. This year's
invasion in Tooele County west of Salt Lake City was worse than
anyone can remember.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Afghanistan
gunfire broke out after Afghan forces moved into a heavily protected
government complex in Kandahar and demanded the release of a man
accused of forging documents who was being held there. When the
Afghan forces threatened to release the suspect by force, the
provincial police chief was called in to talk. Among the officials
killed were provincial police chief Matiullah Qati and the
province's criminal investigations director. Total death tolls from
Afghan officials ranged from between five and 10 police killed. 41
private guards were disarmed and arrested. They were to be sent to
Kabul for a military trial.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, It was reported
that Australian scientists have developed a "trojan horse" therapy
to combat cancer, using a bacterially-derived nano cell to penetrate
and disarm the cancer cell before a second nano cell kills it with
chemotherapy drugs. Sydney scientists Dr Jennifer MacDiarmid and Dr
Himanshu Brahmbhatt, who formed EnGenelC Pty Ltd in 2001, said they
had achieved 100 percent survival in mice with human cancer cells by
using the "trojan horse" therapy in the past two years.
   (Reuters, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Bangladesh
textile workers set fire to a factory in a third day of
demonstrations for payment of wages, as the global economic crisis
hits the South Asian country's main export industry.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Belarus Vasily
Yusepchuk (30), an illiterate, itinerant Gypsy worker, was sentenced
to death by Brest Regional Court. He did chores for elderly women,
and allegedly would sneak back at night to rob and strangle them.
Lawyers insisted the case hinged exclusively on a confession that
they claim was obtained through torture.
   (AP, 10/13/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In China two
passenger trains collided in Hunan province in an accident that
killed three people and injured 60 as train cars were derailed and
nearby houses knocked over. In northeastern China one man died after
part of a bridge caved in, sending eight vehicles plunging into the
river below.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The European Union
Chamber of Commerce in China urged Beijing to reconsider
implementing a controversial Internet filter, saying it raised
serious concerns about security, privacy and user choice.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The European
Commission said top mobile telephone suppliers have agreed to back
an EU-wide harmonization of phone chargers, hailing the pact as good
news for consumers and the environment.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Representatives of
a 500-member team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) said that despite improvement Albania has not
complied with international standards in its parliamentary elections
dues to the politicization of the process and the political
mistrust.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Haiti’s President
Rene Preval's party won five of 11 contests to fill open Senate
seats, according to preliminary results released by the provisional
electoral council. Turnout in the latest voting was even lower than
the 11 percent tallied in the first round. No official percentage
has been reported for the June 21 elections.
   (AP, 6/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iran conducted a
partial recount of votes cast in its disputed presidential election.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked a top judge to investigate the
killing of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman who has become a potent
symbol of the opposition's struggle. Iranian authorities said 17
protesters and eight Basijis have been killed in two weeks of
unrest, and that hundreds of people have been arrested. The Guardian
Council, an electoral authority the opposition accused of favoring
Ahmadinejad, said that it had found only "slight irregularities"
after randomly selecting and recounting 10 percent of nearly 40
million ballots.
   (AP, 6/29/09)(AP, 6/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq four US
soldiers were killed in combat shortly before the American military
completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities. PM al-Maliki assured
Iraqis that government forces taking control of urban areas on June
30 were more than capable of protecting the country.
   (AP, 6/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israeli court
documents indicated the government has approved construction of 50
new housing units in a West Bank settlement to absorb settlers who
are to be evicted from a nearby unauthorized outpost.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Italy a freight
train carrying liquefied gas derailed and exploded in the midst of
the Tuscan town of Viareggio just before midnight, setting off a
fire that killed 21 people, many as they slept in their homes. At
least 50 were injured. An axle failure was blamed for the rail
disaster.
   (AP, 6/30/09)(AP, 7/1/09)(AP, 7/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Kosovo, a former
province of Serbia, became the 186th member of the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The ceremony was held in
Washington, DC, because the US government is the repository for the
1944 Bretton Woods agreement that created the post-World War II
international financial system.
   (AP, 6/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Mexico federal
prosecutors released three of the 10 Mexican mayors arrested last
month in an unprecedented sweep of elected officials accused of
protecting a drug cartel. Assailants set ablaze a pickup truck
belonging to a congressional candidate for PAN, and left two
threatening notes demanding he drop out of the race. At least five
people died in several drug-related slayings in the Gulf coast port
of Veracruz.
   (AP, 6/30/09)(AP, 7/1/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Three Moroccan
newspapers were ordered to pay a total of three million dirhams
(270,000 euros) to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, who had sued them
for writing critical articles.
   (AFP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Presidents from
around Latin America gathered in Nicaragua for meetings on how to
resolve the coup in Honduras, the fist in Central America in at
least 16 years, while the European Union offered to help start talks
between the two sides. Security forces used tear gas and rubber
bullets to scatter protesters, who hurled rocks and bottles as they
retreated. At least 38 protesters were detained. Zelaya said that
Organization of American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel
Insulza had agreed to accompany him back to Honduras.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Niger’s Pres.
Mamadou Tandja issued a decree dissolving a constitutional court,
which had rejected his bid to hold a referendum to change the
constitution so he could extend his time in office. The next day
opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou, expressed outrage over the
president's disbanding of the court, calling the move equivalent to
a coup.
   (AP, 6/30/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Nigerian rebels
announced a new raid against a Shell oil facility and said they had
killed at least 20 soldiers in a gun battle, a claim denied by the
security forces.
   (AFP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pakistani security
forces launched an early morning raid on a suspected militant
hideout in Tank, a small city near South Waziristan, killing two
suspected militants and arresting nine others. 21 militants
reportedly died in overnight clashes with an anti-Taliban militia in
Kurram tribal region. Violence over the 24 hours claimed nearly 70
lives in the northwest region bordering Afghanistan.
   (AP, 6/29/09)(SFC, 6/30/09, p.A2)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pope Benedict XVI
signed his latest encyclical, "Charity in Truth," a text on ways to
make globalization more attentive to meeting the needs of the poor
amid the worldwide financial crisis.
   (AP, 6/29/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Zimbabwe PM
Morgan Tsvangirai's party boycotted a meeting of the cabinet on the
grounds that it made a mockery of the country's power-sharing deal.
Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe has won 950 million dollars in credit lines
from China, the largest loan secured by the unity government since
it was formed in February.
   (AFP, 6/29/09)AFP, 6/30/09)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, President Barack
Obama and Saudi King Abdullah voiced "strong support" for
international efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program, which the West
says masks a secret drive to develop the capability for an atomic
bomb.
   (Reuters, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Google Inc said it
will stop automatically rerouting users in China to an uncensored
search page, a move that aims to preserve its operating license and
signals a fight to save the firm's Chinese business.
   (Reuters, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, American car maker
Tesla Motors began trading shares in an IPO offered at $17. Trading
closed at $23.89.
   (SFC, 6/30/10, p.A1)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Strengthening
Tropical Storm Alex was expected to become a hurricane as it swirled
toward the Gulf coast of northern Mexico and southern Texas, where
authorities were readying emergency shelters and distributing
sandbags.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Afghan police said
16 people, including civilians and policemen, were killed in
separate attacks blamed on the Taliban over the last 24 hours. A UN
vehicle was shot up at a busy traffic circle in Kabul, and at least
one person was wounded.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Rudolf Leopold
(85), renowned Austrian museum director and art collector, died. He
is credited with assembling the country's largest and most important
private art collection.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Taiwan’s
government signed an Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement
(EFCA) with China.
   (Econ, 7/3/10, p.39)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Colombian court
handed down the first prison sentences to leaders of the illegal
far-right militias that demobilized under a peace pact with
President Alvaro Uribe's government. Edward Cobos, better known as
"Diego Vecino," and Uber Banquez, alias "Juancho Dique," each
received the maximum of eight years in prison dictated by the
Justice and Peace law under which they surrendered. A Colombian
court said Luis Caicedo Velandia, arrested in April in Argentina,
has agreed to be extradited to the US on drug-trafficking and
money-laundering charges.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Congolese Gen.
Amuli Bahigwa said the army has killed 80 rebels from neighboring
Rwanda and Uganda who crossed into volatile eastern Congo. Bahigwa
said the army killed the rebels in an operation that started June 1.
He said four soldiers were killed and that Ugandan rebels killed
eight civilians.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Cyprus the
alleged paymaster of a Russian spy ring was arrested on an Interpol
warrant while trying to board a flight to Budapest, Hungary, two
days after his 10 alleged co-conspirators were arrested in the
United States. His companion, a beautiful younger woman, was allowed
to fly out. The suspect, who called himself Christopher Metsos,
vanished after handing over a Canadian passport that claimed he was
54 and got released on bail.
   (AP, 7/11/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Greece fewer
than 20,000 people took to the streets to protest a planned overhaul
of the state pension system.
   (Econ, 7/3/10, p.50)Â
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In India gunmen
believed to be Maoist rebels killed at least 26 paramilitary
personnel during a roadside ambush in Chattisgarh state.
   (SFC, 6/30/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, An Indonesian
court sentenced 8 Iranians to life in prison for smuggling hundreds
of methamphetamine tablets in their stomachs into the resort island
of Bali. The Jakarta Post newspaper, quoting police, said Iranian
drugs syndicates have become the main suppliers of heroin and
crystal methamphetamine to Indonesia, replacing West African
countries.
   (AFP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq a series
of bombings claimed 13 lives, including four policemen, a Baghdad
provincial council official, an Iraqi army general and a 9-year-old
girl.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Indian Kashmir
police and paramilitary troops fired on thousands of anti-India
protesters, killing at least three teenagers in Anantnag in the
worst street violence in a year.
   (AP, 6/29/10)(SFC, 6/30/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Kenya doctors
drilled a hole in the head of PM Raila Odinga to drain fluids that
were putting pressure on his brain.
   (AP, 6/30/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Maldivian
cabinet resigned en masse after a threat by the opposition to bring
a vote of no confidence in parliament against every minister. Pres.
Mohammed Nasheed remained in office.
   (AFP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The government of
Mexico lifted the alert for swine flu, officially ending the health
emergency in the country where the illness first appeared 14 months
ago.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Mexico Miguel
Ortiz Miranda, alias El Tyson, a key suspect in the April 24 ambush
of Michoacan’s state security chief, was arrested in Morelia.
   (SFC, 7/1/10, p.A3)Â
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In New Zealand
rare memorabilia of former French Emperor Napoleon 1st, including a
lock of hair cut from his head after he died in exile in 1821 on the
remote island of St. Helena, fetched 140,000 New Zealand dollars
($97,000) at auction.
   (AP, 7/01/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Pakistan
suspected US missiles hit a house in the South Waziristan tribal
region. 8 militants including an Egyptian allied with Al-Qaida were
killed.
   (AP, 6/29/10)(SFC, 6/30/10, p.A4)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Philippine Pres.
Beningno Aquino III said that one of his first acts will be to
create a Truth Commission to probe the corruption he and his backers
say flourished under former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
   (WSJ, 7/2/10, p.A11)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Romania
authorities said ten people have died and three were missing after
heavy rains and flooding in the northeast.
   (AP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Thailand Karl
Joseph Kraus (90), a Berlin-born Australian, was arrested at his
home near the northern city of Chiang Mai, where police confiscated
about 100 photographs of naked children. He was charged with raping
four young sisters whom he allegedly lured to his home with imported
chocolates and English lessons.
   (AP, 6/30/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Uganda’s
Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kulayigye confirmed the ADF are attacking a
Congolese town called Mutwanga and have killed 16 civilians. The
Allied Democratic Forces, a group that claims it is fighting for
equality for Muslims, battled Ugandan forces in country's Rwenzori
region near the DRC, with the heaviest fighting occurring between
1996 and 2001.
   (AFP, 6/29/10)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Federal
Reserve slashed the fees which banks charge for debit card
transactions, but did not cut them as deeply as initially expected.
Under the new rules, the fee charged for debit card transactions
would be 21 cents. The fee for an average debit card transaction was
44 cents.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)(SFC, 6/30/11, p.D2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, It was reported
that News Corp. has sold Myspace to Specific Media Inc. for $35
million, a fraction of the $580 million it paid in 2005 for the
once-hot social media site even as a new generation of Web-based
start-ups is enjoying sky-high valuations. News Corp. will also get
a 5% stake in Specific Media.
   (Reuters, 6/29/11)(SFC, 6/30/11, p.D3)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bank of America
said it has agreed to pay $8.5 billion to resolve claims over soured
mortgages. The settlement still required court approval.
   (SFC, 6/30/11, p.D2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In New Mexico the
Los Conchas Fire expanded to 110-square miles reaching the edge of
the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory.
   (SFC, 6/30/11, p.A9)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Afghanistan
Ismail Jan, the deputy to the senior Haqqani commander inside
Afghanistan, and other Haqqani fighters died in the airstrike in
Gardez. He was suspected of having provided assistance, including
weapons, fighters and training, to the gunmen who attacked the
Inter-Continental hotel a day earlier.
   (AP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Afghan authorities
arrested two former executives of Kabul Bank in connection with a
scandal at the troubled country's biggest private lender. Sherkhan
Farnood and Khalilullah Ferozi, the bank's former chairman and chief
executive, had initially been held under a loose form of house
arrest in Kabul but had now been taken into detention.
   (AP, 7/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bahrain’s King
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said an independent commission will
investigate allegations of rights violations during anti-government
protests and a deadly crackdown in the Gulf kingdom. At least 31
people have died since February when the country's Shiite majority
started a campaign for greater freedoms and an end to the Sunni hold
on power.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Belarusian police
violently dispersed the latest peaceful rally by thousands of people
protesting Lukashenko's regime and the country's worst financial
crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago.
   (AP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Britain’s first
nationwide study into the scale of child grooming on its streets has
identified more than 2,000 victims. The Child Exploitation and
Online Protection Center (CEOP) report said the victims were aged 14
and 15 and female.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In China Sudan's
Pres. Omar al-Bashir, wanted on a war crimes warrant, won pledges
from China and its state-owned energy firm they will continue
investing in his country after its resource-rich southern region
becomes independent next month.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Colombia
guerrillas erected a road block between Medellin and the Caribbean
coast. When police arrived they detonated a bomb killing a police
chief.
   (Econ, 7/9/11, p.34)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The leaders of
Congo and Guinea agreed to boost the current "low level" of
bilateral exchange, in a statement marking a visit by President
Alpha Conde to Brazzaville. The leaders agreed to hold a second
session in 2012 of a joint commission that last met in 1978, in a
bid to "revive" ties.
   (AFP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Egyptian security
forces clashed with hundreds of youths for a second day in Cairo
over demands that the country's military rulers speed up the
prosecution of police officers accused of brutality during mass
protests that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Ethiopia’s
government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said that two journalists were
among 9 people arrested last week on suspicions of organizing a
terrorist network and planning attacks.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Ethiopia said it
will build four more hydroelectric dams on the Nile river as part of
a plan to become a power hub for Africa.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, French daily Le
Figaro reported that France has begun parachuting arms shipments to
Berber rebels fighting Kadhafi's forces in the highlands south of
Tripoli.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, France-3
television said that their reporters Stephane Taponier and Herve
Ghesquiere, held hostage in Afghanistan since December 2009, have
been freed.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Greek lawmakers
approved a key austerity bill 155-138, paving the way for the
country to get its next vital bailout loans that will prevent it
from defaulting next month. The 2nd day of a 48-hour nationwide
strike brought much of the nation to a halt.
   (AP, 6/29/11)(SFC, 6/30/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Guinea-Bissau’s
economy ministry said the World Bank is to allocate 6.4 million
dollars (nearly 4.5 million euros) to help it fight poverty and
boost growth.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Hong Kong
Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung (51), a one-time hairdresser
turned football tycoon, was arrested by police. The next day he
appeared in court and was charged with money-laundering. Prosecutors
said investigations had revealed around HK$720 million ($92 million)
passing through accounts connected with Yeung. He was released on
HK$7 million ($900,000) bail following a brief appearance at the
magistrate’s court.
   (AFP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the authorities against making arrests of
members in his government whom he vowed to defend.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, An Iraqi judiciary
official said a Baghdad court has handed a life jail sentence to the
widow of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, Al-Qaeda's top chief in Iraq, who was
killed last year in a joint US-Iraqi military raid. A rocket attack
on a US base near the border with Iran killed three American
soldiers. The strike was blamed on a Shiite militia linked to
Tehran.
   (AP, 6/29/11)(AP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Israeli
military razed the West Bank settlement outpost of Ramat Migron,
prompting clashes with youths that resulted in two arrests. The
makeshift settlement, outpost established without Israeli government
permission, has been razed several times since 2009.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Kuwait's
parliament passed a deficit budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year
projecting the highest spending in the OPEC member's history. The
price for oil needed to balance the budget was $85-90 a barrel.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Myanmar's state
media warned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi that her planned
tour to meet supporters outside Yangon could trigger riots.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Peruvian President
Alan Garcia inaugurated a giant statue of Jesus similar to Rio de
Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer. "Christ of the Pacific" is 72
feet (22 m) high and stands atop a 49-foot (15-m) concrete base. It
overlooks the Pacific Ocean from Lima. The statue was donated by the
Brazilian company Odebrecht, which later admitted paying $29 million
in bribes to secure contracts in Peru. In January 2017,
vandals covered the statue in messages like "Out of the country
Odebrecht." In January 2018, the statue was damaged by fire.
   (AP, 6/29/11)(Econ, 2/4/17, p.31)(AP, 1/13/18)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In the southern
Philippines flashfloods left at least 25 people dead, mostly
children. Another 15 people were missing.
   (SSFC, 7/3/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Puerto Rican
authorities broke up the island's largest heroin distribution ring
with a raid on La Perla, a notorious seaside slum, after a grand
jury indicted 114 people on drug and weapons charges.
   (AP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Sudan’s state
media said the government has agreed to appoint a vice president
from the war-torn Darfur region, taking a step toward satisfying a
key rebel demand for greater power-sharing.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, North and south
Sudan agreed to create a demilitarized buffer zone along their
common border just days before the country splits.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Syrian army tanks
rolled into more northwestern villages. 10 people were shot dead
when soldiers backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers swept
into in the district of Jabal al-Zawiyah, including Mar-Ayan,
Al-Rami, Sarja and Kafr Haya. Some 300 hundred lawyers staged a
sit-in protest in the second city of Aleppo. The US Treasury issued
a new list of asset freezes, targeting Syria's Political Security
Directorate and air force intelligence chief Major General Jamil
Hassan.
   (AP, 6/29/11)(AP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Yemeni air force
jet mistakenly bombed a bus in Zinjibar, controlled by Islamic
militants and suspected al-Qaida members, killing four people.
Clashes at a football stadium on the city's outskirts left 48 people
dead including 30 soldiers and 4 civilians. Government warplanes
were called in and bombed the stadium. In Republican Guards shelled
anti-Saleh protesters camped out at a central square, killing one
and wounding four demonstrators.
   (AP, 6/29/11)(AFP, 6/30/11)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Congress
passed a $105 billion transportation bill that also averted a
doubling of student loan rates.
   (SFC, 6/30/12, p.A7)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In NYC the younger
brother of Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to charges that he doctored
documents for years and agreed not to contest a 10-year prison
sentence. Peter Madoff said he did not know about the scam until
December 2008. On Dec 20 Peter Madoff (67) was sentenced to 10 years
in prison.
   (SFC, 6/30/12, p.A8)(SFC, 12/21/12, p.A12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Violent storms
called a derecho pummeled the eastern US with high winds and downed
trees. Power was knocked out to some 3 million homes.
   (AP, 6/30/12)(SFC, 7/3/12, p.A8)(Econ, 7/7/12,
p.32)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In eastern
Afghanistan suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gate of a
government compound, opening the way for armed insurgents to storm
the facility and touching off an hours-long gunbattle that left 10
people dead in Nuristan province. The dead included 4 women, 3
policemen and 3 members of a government-sponsored militia. The
gunfight finally ended when the last of 17 militants were killed in
the late afternoon. Four children, aged between six and ten, found
an "unexploded ordnance" in Pajwayi district of Kandahar province
and brought it home. They were playing with it when it exploded
killing all four.
   (AP, 6/29/12)(AFP, 6/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The IMF said
Afghanistan has made progress on structural reforms despite a
difficult environment, as it approved the release of $18.2 million
in new funds under its loan program.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Algeria a dawn
attack against the regional headquarters of the paramilitary police
in the center of the town of Ouargla killed one person and left
three wounded. A Mali-based Islamist group, the Movement for Oneness
and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), claimed responsibility for the
attack.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Argentina the
Mercosur trade bloc held a summit. It suspended Paraguay's
membership for having impeached and ousted its president but said it
will not slap economic sanctions on it. The group also announced
that Venezuela will become a full member starting July 31.
   (AP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The World Bank
cancelled a $1.2 billion loan for Bangladesh's Padma bridge project,
saying the government had not cooperated in investigating "high
level" corruption in the project. The $3 billion bridge planned to
go into service in 2014.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Britain's major
banks, including HSBC and Barclays, were ordered to pay up for
misleading businesses over interest rate insurance, in a second blow
to the image of the City. Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King
described an interest rate rigging scandal engulfing British banks
as "deceitful manipulation," calling for fundamental changes in the
culture of the banking industry.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)(Reuters, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Liam Woodards was
stabbed to death after a fight broke out at the Westfield shopping
mall in Stratford, east London, the main gateway to the Olympic
Games starting on July 27. Three men quickly arrested over Woodards'
death were charged with violent disorder. Another six were arrested
the next day.
   (AFP, 7/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Chinese President
Hu Jintao urged Hong Kong's restive people to embrace the motherland
as he visited the financial citadel for the 15th anniversary of its
return to rule by Beijing.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China's first
female astronaut, Liu Yang (33), and two other crew members emerged
smiling from the Shenzhou 9 capsule that returned safely to Earth
from a 13-day mission to an orbiting module that is a prototype for
a future space station.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In China
Passengers and crew foiled an alleged hijacking attempt by six
people on a plane in the far-western Xinjiang region. Local sources
said that the plane turned back after Uighurs and Hans began
fighting after a disagreement over seat assignments.
   (AP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In southern China
a tanker truck filled with gasoline collided with a truck, setting
off an explosion and a massive fire that left 20 people dead and 14
others hurt.
   (AP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Denmark decided to
extradite to Rwanda Emmanuel Mbarushimana, a man suspected of being
involved in the country's 1994 genocide.
   (AP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Ethiopian
Railway Corporation (ERC) said it has forged two deals with Turkish
and Chinese companies to build a railway connecting the landlocked
country to Djibouti.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Leaders of the
full 27-member EU, following an all night session, agreed they will
let funds intended to bail out indebted governments funnel money
directly to struggling banks as well. They also agreed to a
long-term framework toward tighter budgetary and political union,
though those plans will require treaty changes and won't be realized
for years.
   (AP, 6/29/12)(SFC, 6/29/12, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, French authorities
arrested a Tunisia-born man, the administrator of an extremist
French website, who is suspected of playing a key role in financing
and recruiting for al-Qaida and other terrorist groups in several
countries.
   (AP, 7/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Indian police said
at least 21 Maoist rebels were killed in a series of clashes with
security forces in the central state of Chhattisgarh, a hotbed of
left-wing extremism.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq gunmen
shot dead four anti-Qaeda militiamen a checkpoint in Khan Bani Saad,
south of the city of Baquba, while a roadside bomb killed an Iraqi
soldier.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Japan tens of
thousands of people rallied outside PM Noda’s residence in Tokyo in
one of the largest demonstrations held against the restart of
nuclear reactors.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Top Japanese
brokerage Nomura Holdings said that it would temporarily cut its
most senior executives' pay by as much as half in the wake of an
embarrassing insider trading scandal at the firm.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Kenya gunmen
killed at least one person and kidnapped 4 aid workers in the Dadaab
refugee camp complex near the border with war-torn Somalia. The 4
aid workers were released safely in southern Somalia after a short
overnight gunfight on July 2.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)(AFP, 7/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In northeastern
Nigeria security forces killed suspected Boko Haram sect members
during a military raid on their hideout in Damaturu.
   (AP, 7/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Sri Lankan police
arrested 9 journalists and seized computers and documents from the
office of an independent news website.
   (AP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Sudanese police
fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of peaceful protesters outside
an opposition party mosque, the 14th day of anti-regime
demonstrations sparked by inflation. About 1,000 people were
arrested and hundreds hurt.
   (AFP, 6/29/12)(AFP, 6/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Syrian troops
rained tank and artillery shells down on a rebellious suburb of
Damascus, killing dozens of people during a particularly bloody week
across the country. 75 people were killed nationwide.
   (AP, 6/29/12)(AFP, 6/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Venezuelan
television channel Globovision paid a fine of more than $2 million
imposed by regulators, calling it an unfair penalty but saying it
had no choice after the Supreme Court ordered an embargo on its
assets for nonpayment. Regulators slapped the penalty on the channel
last year for its coverage of a prolonged prison uprising.
   (AP, 6/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The State Bank of
Vietnam said it would lower the refinancing rate, charged on loans
to commercial banks, to 10% from 11% effective July 1. This was its
fifth cut so far this year as inflation cooled amid signs of
weakening economic growth.
   (AFP, 7/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Yemen 5 bodies
were found inside a well outside of Zinjibar.
   (AP, 6/30/12)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pres. Obama in
South Africa encouraged leaders in Africa and around the world to
follow former South African President Nelson Mandela's example of
country before self. Obama met privately with the family of ailing
Nelson Mandela.
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In San Francisco,
Ca., firefighter Michael Quinn ran a red light while driving a fire
rig and badly injured motorcyclist Jack Frazier at Fifth and Howard.
On March 31, 2014, Quinn surrendered to face felony drunken driving
charges stemming from the accident. On March 20, 2015, a SF judge
tossed out the case against Quinn ruling that police lacked legal
justification to arrest him. On July 12, 2016, the SF attorney’s
office agreed to a $4,900,000 settlement with Frazier.Â
   (SFC, 4/1/14, p.C1)(SFC, 3/21/15, p.A1)(SFC,
7/13/16, p.D1)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Florida a
monuument to atheism was unveiled near a granite slab that lists the
Ten Commandments outside a courthouse in Starke.
   (SSFC, 6/30/13, p.A10)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Nevada Sarah
Guillot-Guyard (31), an acrobat and mother of two with Cirque du
Soleil, died in las Vegas after falling some 50 feet from a
production of “Ka” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
   (SFC, 7/2/13, p.A12)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Tennessee
Vanderbilt University said it has dismissed four football players
from the team and suspended them from the university as the result
of a sex crimes investigation.
   (CSM, 6/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Jim Kelly
(b.1946), karate expert, died. He had starred in a number of martial
arts and blaxploitation films including “Enter the Dragon,“ “Black
Belt Jones” and “Three the Hard Way.”
   (SFC, 7/4/13, p.D5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, British PM David
Cameron flew into Afghanistan to try to reinvigorate stalled peace
talks with the Taliban and reassure Afghans that foreign troops will
not cut and run next year.
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Chechnya police
said rebels have killed a Russian policeman and injured 14 others.
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Chinese state
media said more than a hundred people, riding motorbikes and
wielding knives, attacked a Hotan police station in the ethnically
divided western region of Xinjiang.
   (AP, 6/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China's state
media warned that a "counterstrike" against the Philippines was
inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China
Sea, potentially Asia's biggest military trouble spot.
   (Reuters, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Egypt Mahmoud
Badr, a leader of the Tamarod, or rebel, movement said that
22,134,460 Egyptians have signed the petition demanding President
Mohammed Morsi's ouster.
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A senior Egyptian
police officer was shot dead by unknown gunmen who ambushed his car
in the Sinai Peninsula town of El Arish.
   (Reuters, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, Legislators in
Grenada approved a bill that makes it a crime to offend people
through websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq a bomb
went off in an outdoor market in west Baghdad killing 4 people.
Attackers using guns fitted with silencers killed 3 off-duty
policemen in a drive-by shooting near Fallujah. Bombs targeting
soccer players and young men who had gathered to watch a match
killed 7 people.
   (AP, 6/29/13)(Reuters, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Italian
astrophysicist Margherita Hack (95) died in the Adriatic Sea town of
Trieste. She had explained her research on the stars in plain
language for the public and championed civil rights.
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Russian police
arrested several gay rights activists and Russian nationalists who
confronted them at a rally in St. Petersburg that was declared
illegal under a new law against "gay propaganda."
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Somalia dozens
were feared dead as militia clashes over leadership continued for a
2nd day in the strategic port city of Kismayu.
   (AP, 6/29/13)(Reuters, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Thousands of
Sudanese called for the overthrow of veteran President Omar Hassan
al-Bashir, spurred on by an opposition trying to stoke an Arab
Spring style uprising.
   (Reuters, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Syrian warplanes
and ground forces bombarded rebel-held neighborhoods in Homs as part
of the military's ongoing campaign against opposition fighters in
the heart of the country's third largest city.
   (AP, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In southern
Thailand 7 soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Yala
province.Â
   (SSFC, 6/30/13, p.A6)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Turkey
thousands of protesters marched to Istanbul's Taksim Square chanting
slogans against the government and police after security forces
killed a Kurdish demonstrator in the southeast.
   (Reuters, 6/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Uganda a car
crashed into a moving gas tanker on the putskirts of Kampala late
today, sparking a fire that killed at least 29 people. Scores more
were badly burned.
   (AP, 6/30/13)(SFC, 7/1/13, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US Marine Cpl.
Wassef Ali Hassoun (34) was flown from the Middle East to Norfolk,
Va., after turning himself in to US authorities. He was declared a
deserter in 2004 after disappearing in Iraq. On Feb 23, 2015,
Hassoun was sentenced to two years in prison for desertion.
   (SFC, 6/30/14, p.A5)(SFC, 1/24/15, p.A5)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, San Francisco held
its 44th annual Gay Pride Parade.
   (SFC, 6/30/14, p.A1)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Louisiana a
gunfight on Bourbon Street in New Orleans left one bystander dead
and nine people wounded. On Jan 15, 2016, Trung Lee (22) was found
guilty of manslaughter in the death of Brittany Thomas (21).
   (SSFC, 1/17/16, p.A8)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Lancaster, New
Hampshire, the Porcupine Freedom Festival came to an end. It was
organized by the Free State project which aims to bring some 20,000
freedom-loving libertarians and anarchists to the state.
   (Econ, 7/5/14, p.27)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Australia seized
157 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers near Christmas Island, an
Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
   (Econ, 7/26/14,p.36)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Bulgarian police
arrested five people for allegedly using text messages, e-mails and
phone calls "to spread false information that caused detriment to
commercial banks and destabilized the banking system.”
   (AP, 6/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, An Egyptian
appeals court upheld a blasphemy conviction against Abdel-Nour, a
Coptic Christian teacher, and sentenced her to six months in prison,
overturning an earlier ruling that only imposed a fine.
   (AP, 6/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Hong Kong an
informal referendum aimed at bolstering support for greater
democracy wound down after drawing nearly 800,000 votes and the ire
of Beijing, which denounced it as a political farce.
   (AP, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Police in southern
India detained five construction company officials as rescuers using
gas cutters and shovels searched for dozens of workers believed
buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon
rains.
   (AP, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iraqi helicopter
gunships struck suspected insurgent positions in Tikrit as part of a
government offensive to retake the northern city from Sunni
militants led by the al-Qaida breakaway Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL). Insurgents retained control of most of Tikrit.
   (AP, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Islamic State
of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) proclaimed its leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi to be caliph over territory it controls in Syria and
Iraq and demanded all Muslims around the world to pledge allegiance.
   (AP, 6/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel’s PM
Netanyahu called for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan.
   (SFC, 6/30/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israeli aircraft
attacked at least six militant targets in the Gaza Strip, hours
after rockets fired from the Palestinian territory set a factory in
Israel on fire.
   (Reuters, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Italy's navy
rescued thousands of people trying to cross from North Africa over
the weekend. Off the coast of Sicily the corpses of 30 migrants were
found on a boat carrying nearly 600 migrants.
   (Reuters, 6/30/14)(SFC, 7/1/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Japan a man set
himself on fire at a busy intersection in Tokyo in an apparent
protest against PM Shinzo Abe's plans to ease limits of the
country's pacifist constitution. It was not immediately clear
whether the man survived.
   (Reuters, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Morocco around
500 migrants of sub-Saharan origin tried to storm Spain's
barbed-wire border fence separating its North African enclave of
Melilla from Morocco but all failed in their bid to enter Europe.
   (AP, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Nigeria
suspected Islamist militants sprayed gunfire on worshippers in four
churches in an attack on a village less than 5 km (3 miles) from
Chibok, the scene of a mass abduction of more than 200 school girls
in April. At least 30 people were reported killed.
   (Reuters, 6/29/14)(AFP, 6/30/14)(AP, 7/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Senegal voted in
municipal and provincial elections. This was seen as a key test for
President Macky Sall as he tries to shore up support for his party
two years after his own disputed victory.
   (AFP, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Somalia
Islamist rebels shot dead 3 members of the security forces in
Mogadishu on the first day of Ramadan.
   (Reuters, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Uganda forces in
Central African Republic (CAR) clashed for the first time with
fighters from Seleka, a mainly Muslim rebel force. 15 Seleka and
three UPDF soldiers were reported killed as clashes continued into
the next day.
   (AP, 7/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In eastern Ukraine
veteran cameraman Anatoly Klyan (68), who worked for Russia's
Channel One, was killed when a bus carrying journalists and
soldiers' mothers was hit by gunfire near Avdiivka, just north of
Donetsk.
   (AP, 6/30/14)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pres. Obama opened
two-days of talks with Brazil’s Pres. Dilma Rousseff. To coincide
with the visit America promised to lift a 14-year-old ban on imports
of Brazilian beef.
   (SFC, 6/30/15, p.A3)(Econ, 7/4/15, p.27)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pres. Obama
renewed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initially
approved by Congress in 2000. The AGOA was not extended to farm
products.
  Â
(www.agri-pulse.com/AGOA-Advancing-Ag-July-2015.asp)(Econ, 7/25/15,
p.9)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court in a 5-4 decision invalidated a key Obama administration
environmental regulation aimed at limiting emissions of mercury and
other hazardous pollutants mainly from coal-fired power plants.
Failure to undertake a cost-benefit analysis was cited.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)(SFC, 6/30/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court upheld the use of the sedative midazolam for use in
executions, even as two dissenting judges said they think it’s
highly likely that the death penalty itself is unconstitutional.
   (SFC, 6/30/15, p.A5)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US House Speaker
John A. Boehner and a House delegation wrapped up a three-day trip
to Lithuania, where aides said he reaffirmed the United States’
commitment to resisting Russian aggression in the region.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In NYC a young
Swedish woman who sued her former Wall Street executive boss over
lurid allegations of sexual conquest, betrayal and stalking was
awarded $18 million by a federal jury. Hanna Bouveng (25) accused
Benjamin Wey (43) in an $850 million lawsuit of using his power as
owner of New York Global Group to coerce her into four sexual
encounters before firing her after discovering she had a boyfriend.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In central
Washington state a wildfire "blew up" overnight, threatening homes
and businesses as flames enveloped roughly 3,000 acres, nearly
double the area burning only a day earlier.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, NBC said it is
cutting ties with GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump because of
comments he made about Mexican immigrants during the announcement of
his campaign. Macy’s soon followed to end its ties with Trump.
   (SFC, 6/30/15, p.A5)(SFC, 7/2/15, p.A7)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Burundians voted
in controversial elections that were condemned internationally amid
an opposition boycott and grenade attacks, with the election
commission claiming an "enormous" turnout despite many stations
being quiet.
   (AFP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Canada announced
economic sanctions against Russian energy firms including natural
gas producer Gazprom over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.
   (Reuters, 6/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Chad two
suicide bombings rocked the capital N'Djamena, killing over 30
people.
   (AP, 6/29/15)(Econ, 2/13/15, p.40)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China's Premier Li
Keqiang said he wants to see Greece remain in the euro zone and
promised that Beijing would make investments in the European Union's
new infrastructure fund.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In China envoys of
governments that plan to join a Chinese-led Asian bank endorsed a
structure that gives Beijing the biggest voting stake at the start
but no veto power.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Cyprus jailed
Hussein Bassam Abdallah (26), a member of the armed wing of
Hezbollah, for six years after he pleaded guilty to charges of
stockpiling explosives to attack Jewish targets abroad.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)  Â
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Egypt's top public
prosecutor, Hisham Barakat (64), died of wounds sustained in a car
bomb attack on his convoy as it was leaving his Cairo home in a
marked escalation of Islamist militant attacks on the judiciary. In
2016 Egypt accused exiled Muslim Brotherhood officials of conspiring
with Gaza-based Hamas militants to assassinate Barakat and arrested
14 people in connection with the attack.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)(Reuters, 3/6/16)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, French police
brought in two executives from US technology company Uber for
questioning as the government clamp down on the taxi and
ride-sharing service intensifies.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In France
employees of a ferry service recently sold by Eurotunnel renewed a
blockade of the northern port of Calais after a court rejected their
bid to extend the service's charter contract with Eurotunnel.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq attacks
inside and around Baghdad killed at least 7 people. Authorities
found the bodies for 4 men and 2 women dumped in different areas in
and around Baghdad, all shot in the chest and head with their hands
and legs tied.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq and Syria
the United States and its allies staged 18 air strikes on Islamic
State targets.
   (Reuters, 6/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel and the
Palestinians promised to investigate alleged war crimes committed by
their forces during the 2014 Gaza war. A Palestinian woman stabbed a
female Israeli soldier in the neck at a checkpoint between Jerusalem
and Bethlehem.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)(AFP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel's navy
intercepted a Swedish vessel attempting to breach a naval blockade
of the Gaza Strip and redirected it to an Israeli port.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Kuwait's interior
ministry referred five suspects linked to the June 26 suicide
bombing of a Shiite mosque to the prosecution service for legal
action.
   (AFP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mozambique
decriminalized homosexuality when a new penal code came into force
that swept away old Portuguese colonial laws.
   (AFP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Nigeria two
suicide bombers blew themselves up prematurely in a village outside
Maiduguri just an hour before the arrival of Vice President Yemi
Osinbanjo.
   (SFC, 7/3/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pakistani
authorities killed 4 militants, arrested two and seized a large
cache of weapons on a house near the eastern city of Lahore. The
militants were planning to target important buildings in Lahore
during the current Ramadan holiday.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Puerto Rico Gov.
Alejandro Garcia Padilla warned that his country can't pay its $72
billion public debt as international economists released a critical
report on the island's economy.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Russian President
Vladimir Putin met with Syria's foreign minister and pledged his
support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Putin called on all
Middle East nations to join forces to fight Islamic State militants.
   (AP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Syrian regime
forces took back several parts of a neighborhood in the northeastern
city of Hasakeh from the Islamic State group, but heavy clashes
continued.
   (AFP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A man in the
United Arab Emirates was sentenced to three years in jail for
Twitter posts allegedly insulting the Gulf country's Supreme Court.
Nasser al-Faresi (27) allegedly called the proceedings of a 2012
sedition trial a "judicial farce" and insulted the UAE's president
and Abu Dhabi's crown prince.
   (Reuters, 6/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Yemen an attack
claimed by the Sunni extremist group on Huthi leaders in the
rebel-held capital Sanaa killed at least 28 people.
   (AFP, 7/1/15)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Senate
passed a financial rescue package for Puerto Rico, two days before a
$2 billion debt payment on the island’s $70 billion debt. Pres.
Obama signed the measure on June 30.
   (SFC, 6/30/16, p.A5)(SFC, 7/1/16, p.A6)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US said it has
extended a $2.7-billion credit facility to Iraq for the purchase of
military equipment amid the ongoing fight against the Islamic State
group.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Firefighters in
central California contained 60% of the Erskine wildfire ranked as
the biggest and deadliest of several blazes raging across the state
in an early summer heat wave.
   (Reuters, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Vallejo, Ca.,
Elvira Babb (57) was kidnapped and held for ransom. On July 8 police
arrested four suspects, but Babb remained missing.
   (SSFC, 7/10/16, p.A16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Univ. of
Connecticut revoked an honorary degree awarded Bill Cosby saying he
engaged in conduct incongruent with the university’s values.
   (SFC, 6/30/16, p.A5)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Montana a
grizzly bear attacked and killed mountain biker Brad Treat (38) at
Glacier national Park.
   (SFC, 6/30/16, p.A5)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Cameroon a
young male suicide bomber belonging to Nigerian jihadist group Boko
Haram killed at least 11 people when he blew himself up close to a
mosque near the Nigerian border.
   (Reuters, 6/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Canada Pres.
Obama met with PM Trudeau and Mexico’s Pres. Enrique Pena Nieto for
their annual North American Leaders’ Summit. All agreed to focus on
closer economic ties.
   (SFC, 6/30/16, p.A3)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Xinhua News Agency
reported that China has replaced its internet regulator Lu Wei, the
hard-liner responsible for leading the government's efforts to
tighten control over domestic cyberspace and export the ruling
Communist Party's philosophy of web control. His successor will be
his deputy, former propaganda official Xu Lin.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Dubai's transport
authority announced it had awarded a French-led consortium a $2.88
billion contract to extend its metro network to the site of the Expo
2020 world trade fair.
   (AFP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The European
Union's executive Commission gave the go-ahead for the popular weed
killer glyphosate to be used for up to 18 months longer amid
concerns about its possible links to cancer.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Indonesia's Pres.
Joko Widodo ordered an expansion of offshore oil exploration and
commercial fishing in the waters near the Natuna Islands, the latest
in a new campaign to assert sovereignty over the area in the South
China Sea.
   (Reuters, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq more than
20 helicopters took part in a mission that destroyed more than 138
vehicles described as a convoy of Islamic State fighters fleeing the
western city of Fallujah. The US-led coalition also conducted
airstrikes on two large concentrations of Daesh vehicles and
fighters.
   (AP, 6/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Italian navy
said it has recovered the migrant ship that sank off Sicily April
18, 2015, with an estimated 700-800 people aboard in one of the
worst known tragedies of the Mediterranean migrant crisis.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Japan-based Toyota
announced it is recalling 1.43 million vehicles for defective air
bags and another 2.87 million vehicles for faulty fuel emissions
controls.
   (AP, 6/29/16)  Â
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Luxembourg two
whistleblowers in the "LuxLeaks" tax scandal were given suspended
jail sentences for leaking thousands of documents that exposed
Luxembourg's huge tax breaks for major international companies.
Former PricewaterhouseCoopers employees Antoine Deltour and Raphael
Halet received 12-month and nine-month sentences respectively while
journalist Edouard Perrin was acquitted of all charges. In March
2017 the sentence for Antoine Deltour (31) was reduced to six months
suspended with a 1,500-euro fine. Raphael Halet (40) received a
1,000-euro fine instead of a nine-month prison sentence.
   (AFP, 6/29/16)(AFP, 3/15/17)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Malaysia
influential opposition politician Lim Guan Eng, chief minister of
northern Penang state, was arrested on allegations of corruption. He
has strongly criticized financial scandals involving PM Najib Razak.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mongolians voted
in parliamentary elections against the background of a sharp
downturn in the mining sector, vital to the landlocked nation's
economy. The opposition Mongolian People's Party (MPP) won a
decisive victory with 65 of 76 seats.
   (AP, 6/29/16)(AP, 6/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, North Korea
convened a meeting of its national parliament that is expected to
follow up on the first congress of its ruling Workers' Party in 36
years, which was held last month.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Pakistan gunmen
ambushed an army vehicle in Quetta, killing 4 soldiers.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A rights lawyer at
the European Court of Human Rights said Romania was paid millions of
dollars by the CIA to host secret prisons from 2003-2005.
   (SFC, 6/30/16, p.A2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Scottish First
Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a dash to Brussels to tell the EU that
Scots were intent on staying in the bloc, hours after David Cameron
told a summit that Britain was pulling out.
   (Reuters, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Syria a joint
convoy of UN, the Red Cross and Syrian Red Crescent trucks carrying
medical and food aid entered two blockaded towns near Damascus.
   (AP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Syria a car
bomb killed at least 10 people in Tal Abyad town, held by US-backed
Kurdish-led forces, near the Turkish border.
   (AFP, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In southeast
Turkey a roadside bomb planted by Kurdish PKK militants ripped apart
a military armored vehicle, killing 2 soldiers and wounding three
others.
   (Reuters, 6/29/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In eastern Ukraine
Wassyl Slipak, a former baritone opera singer, was killed by sniper
fire. He had performed in French opera productions for nearly two
decades before joining a volunteer battalion fighting Russian-backed
rebels.
   (SFC, 6/30/16, p.A2)2017  Â
   Jun 29, In Washington, DC, South Korea's
president held talks with congressional leaders and a White House
dinner with President Donald Trump as he looked to reassure
Washington that he will coordinate closely on dealing with the
threat from North Korea.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US State Dept.
approved $1.4 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.
   (SFC, 6/30/17, p.A2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Tighter
restrictions on travel to the US from six mostly Muslim nations took
effect this evening after the Supreme Court gave its go-ahead for a
limited version of President Donald Trump's plans for a ban. Visa
applicants from the six countries — and all refugees — will need to
show close family or business ties to the United States.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US House of
Representatives passed “Kate’s Law” (HR3004) named after a young
woman killed in San Francisco in 2015. The law, which increases
maximum sentences for immigrants who re-enter the US illegally after
a deportation, moved on the Senate for consideration.
   (SFC, 7/5/17, p.A8)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Indianapolis
police killed Aaron Bailey (45), an unarmed black man, who crashed
his car while fleeing from a traffic stop. No criminal charges were
filled against the two police officers involved.
   (http://tinyurl.com/y6wzbj3e)(SFC, 11/1/17, p.A5)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Kansas a prison
riot at the El Dorado Correctional Facility involved 60 to 80
inmates. Two other uprisings had taken place during the week of May
8 and on June 24.
   (SFC, 7/26/17, p.A7)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Texas Andrew
Bice (34) opened fire on two police officers in San Antonio as they
proceeded to question him about a vehicle break-in. Officer Miguel
Moreno was shot in the head and died the next day. Bice was killed
in the shootout.
   (SFC, 7/1/17, p.A6)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Afghanistan the
Taliban stormed an Afghan security post in the western Farah
province late today, killing at least six policemen and wounding
three.
   (AP, 6/30/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Leading global
fashion brands and trade unions agreed to continue a safety program
involving thousands of garment factories in Bangladesh for another
three years. Swiss-based global trade unions — IndustriALL Global
Union and UNIGlobal Union — and brand representatives announced the
agreement in Paris.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Britain pledged to
fund abortions for Northern Irish women who travel to England after
a Belfast court overturned a ruling that Northern Ireland's
restrictive abortion laws breach human rights in certain cases.
   (Reuters, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The British
parliament scrapped a requirement for male lawmakers to wear ties, a
move greeted with both concern and celebration at Westminster.
   (AFP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Canada said it is
extending its military mission against the Islamic State group in
Iraq for another two years.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Canada the
opposition of British Columbia dethroned Christy Clark, the premier
since 2011, in a no confidence vote. On July 18 John Horgan of the
New Democratic Party assumed office as the 36th premier of BC.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Horgan)(Econ
7/8/17, p.32)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Chinese President
Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong and said China would work to ensure
a "far-reaching future" for Hong Kong's autonomy, but he faces a
divided city with protesters angered by Beijing's perceived
interference as it marks 20 years of Chinese rule.
   (Reuters, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Egypt raised the
prices of fuel by up to 55 percent, the second such increase since
the local currency was floated seven months ago, as the country
struggles with an array of economic woes including a double-digit
inflation rate.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The European
Commission presented “Pepp,” a proposal for a pan-European
personal-pension product.
   (Econ 7/8/17, p.62)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Hundreds of
striking Greek sanitation workers ended a 10-day strike in Athens
over jobs as steaming mountains of garbage piled up across the
country and temperatures soared.
   (Reuters, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Indian PM Narendra
Modi condemned a rise in deadly mob attacks on cattle traders, beef
eaters and dairy farmers, saying that killing people in the name of
protecting cows is unacceptable.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iraqi forces said
they had retaken control of the iconic mosque in Mosul where IS
chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only public appearance.
   (AFP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Italy's Premier
Paolo Gentiloni pressed his European Union allies to take in more
migrants, saying the relentless arrival of tens of thousands on
Italy's shores is putting his country under enormous strain.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mexico's scandal
of high-tech spying against journalists and human rights defenders
widened with expert confirmation that leading members of a main
opposition party were also targeted by Israeli-made spyware sold
exclusively to governments.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Myanmar's
government said it will instruct its embassies around the world to
bar members of a UN-approved fact-finding mission from entering the
country to investigate alleged human rights violations by security
forces against the Muslim Rohingya minority and other groups.
   (AP, 6/30/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Pakistan tens
of thousands of people protested in Parachinar to demand better
security after twin bombings in a market there last week killed 75
people.
   (Reuters, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Romania's
Parliament approved a new leftist government (275-102) after
dismissing the last one in a no-confidence vote amid political
infighting in the ruling party.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Russian court
convicted five Chechen men of murdering opposition leader Boris
Nemtsov in 2015, but the late politician's allies said the
investigation had been a cover-up and that the people who had
ordered his killing remained at large.
   (Reuters, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Serbian lawmakers
elected Ana Brnabic as prime minister, making her the country’s
first female and first openly gay leader.
   (SFC, 6/30/17, p.A4)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, An international
arbitration panel granted Slovenia unhindered access to the high
seas for the first time since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia
as part of a ruling aimed at settling a long-running territorial
dispute between Croatia and Slovenia. Croatia walked out of the
arbitration in 2015 and does not recognize the panel's findings.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Syria the
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces sealed off the last route used by
the Islamic State group to flee an offensive on its Syrian bastion
Raqqa. The IHS Markit analysis firm said the Islamic State group has
lost more than 60 percent of its territory and 80 percent of its
revenue.
   (AFP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Uganda musician
Robert Kyagulanyi (27), a.k.a. Bobi Wine, a.k.a. His Excellency the
Ghetto President, won a landslide victory in a Kampala by-election
to become the country's newest lawmaker.
   (AFP, 6/30/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The UN Security
Council extended sanctions on illegal oil exports from Libya to
cover refined petroleum products as well, in a bid to stem rampant
smuggling of subsidized fuel by sea.
   (Reuters, 6/30/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Cardinal George
Pell (b.1941), a top adviser to Pope Francis, took a leave of
absence as the Vatican's financial chief to fight criminal charges
in his native Australia that alleged he committed sexual assault
years ago.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Venezuela 29
students in Caracas were detained after participating in
anti-government protests.
   (AP, 6/30/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Prominent
Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh was sentenced to 10 years
in prison after being found guilty of distorting government policies
and defaming the Communist regime in Facebook posts and in her
interviews with foreign media, including one about deaths in police
custody. On Oct. 26 her daughter (10) appealed to U. First Lady
Melania Trump to help win her mother's release ahead of President
Donald Trump's November visit to Vietnam.
   (AP, 6/29/17)(Reuters, 10/27/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The latest reports
of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has exceeded 200,000 people with
an estimated 5,000 new cases daily.
   (AP, 6/29/17)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A US federal
control board overseeing the finances of Puerto Rico said it will
eliminate a $25 million scholarship fund for the island's largest
public university, as well as a $50 million annual fund for
municipalities. In addition, the board said it will scrap an annual
Christmas bonus for all government employees starting next fiscal
year.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The United States
formally ended seven decades of military presence in South Korea's
capital with a ceremony to mark the opening of a new headquarters
farther from North Korean artillery range.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, James D. Melville,
the US ambassador to Estonia, resigned over frustrations with
President Donald Trump's comments about the European Union and his
treatment of Washington's European allies.
   (AP, 6/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US FDA
approved Qbrexza, the first drug developed to reduce excessive
sweating.
   (SFC, 6/30/18, p.A6)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Colorado at
least a dozen wildfires raged in drought-stricken portions of the
state where hundreds of residents have been evacuated as a wave of
prime wildfire weather conditions moves through the US West.
   (Reuters, 6/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Florida a
ball-shaped artificial intelligence robot nicknamed the "flying
brain" because it is trained to follow and interact with a German
astronaut, blasted off from Cape Canaveral toward the International
Space Station aboard SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iowa's Supreme
Court blocked a law requiring a 72-hour waiting period before a
woman can get an abortion. State lawmakers had approved the law last
year.
   (SFC, 6/30/18, p.A9)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A US federal judge
blocked Kentucky's work requirements for Medicaid and ordered the
Trump administration to reconsider the program.
   (SFC, 6/30/18, p.A6)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US comics artist
Stephen Ditko (b.1927), co-creator of Marvel superheroes Spider-Man
and Doctor Strange, was found dead in his NYC apartment.
   (AFP, 7/7/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The BBC struck a
deal with senior journalist Carrie Gracie and apologized for
underpaying her. Gracie had quit her post to protest the British
media company's gender pay gap.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Canada hit back at
the United States with retaliatory tariffs on American summertime
essentials including Florida orange juice, ketchup and Kentucky
bourbon in its opening salvo in a trade war with President Donald
Trump.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China's Shenzhen
Stock Exchange ordered Jiangsu Shagang Group, China's third-biggest
steelmaker, to hold a formal investigation into its operations after
it was accused by the government a day earlier of failing to rectify
breaches in pollution rules.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In central China
eighteen people were killed and 14 others injured in a head-on
collision between a passenger bus and a truck on a highway in Hunan
province.
   (AP, 6/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In the Czech Rep.
the 53rd annual international film festival in the spa town of
Karlovy Vary kicked off with an award for American actor, director,
and producer Tim Robbins.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Denmark's
parliament agreed on the construction of three new offshore wind
farms with a total production capacity of at least 2,400 megawatts
by 2030. The deal also includes a target for 55 percent of the
country's energy to be supplied from renewable sources by 2030, up
from a previous goal of 50 percent set by the current government.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The International
Monetary Fund approved the fourth installment of a $12 billion,
three-year loan for Egypt, bringing the total released to date to
just over $8 billion.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, EU leaders struck
a deal on migration after two days of talks wrapped up in Brussels.
EU leaders agreed to share out refugees on a voluntary basis and
create "controlled centers" inside the European Union to process
asylum requests. EU leaders agreed to increase funds for Spain and
Morocco to help deal with migration flows.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The EU issued PM
Theresa May a final Brexit warning -- put your cards on the table,
offer ways to overcome "huge" differences and prevent Britain from
crashing out of the bloc without a deal.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In India thousands
of people held a street protest in northeastern Assam state against
a decision by the government to grant citizenship mainly to Hindus
who have fled neighboring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan,
alleging persecution by the Muslim majority there. The protest was
led by the All Assam Students Union, which demands deportation of
thousands of illegal migrants, both Hindus and Muslims, from
neighboring Bangladesh.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Authorities in
northeastern India cut internet access after crazed mobs, sparked by
rumors spread on smartphones, beat three people to death in Tripura.
More than 25 similar killings in recent months across India have
been ignited by false information spread on messaging service
WhatsApp.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In northeastern
India five paramilitary soldiers were killed and another six injured
as huge boulders rolled down on their bus following a mudslide
triggered by monsoon rains in Arunachal Pradesh state.
   (AP, 6/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iraq said that it
executed 13 death row jihadists after PM Haider al-Abadi vowed a
forceful retaliation to calm public anger over the Islamic State
group's murder of abducted civilians.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel said it
mounted a nighttime operation across its armistice line with Syria
to deliver aid to people fleeing a government offensive in the
country's south.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel troops shot
Yasser Abu al-Naja (13) in the head in border clashes near the
southern city of Khan Yunis. The boy, a son of a Hamas military
commander. Mohammed al-Hamayda (24) died after he was shot in the
stomach in a separate incident east of Rafah in Gaza's south.
   (AFP, 6/30/18)(SFC, 6/29/18, p.A4)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Italy's hardline
interior minister Matteo Salvini announced that Italian ports would
be closed "all summer" to NGO ships which rescue migrants trying to
cross the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Kosovo police said
they had arrested three people on terrorism charges and a fourth was
arrested in Germany on an international arrest warrant issued by a
Kosovo court.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Libyan
coastguard official said around 100 people are thought to have
drowned from a migrant boat off Libya's western coast. The
coastguard picked up 14 survivors from the boat just east of
Tripoli.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mohamed Nasheed,
the exiled former president of the Maldives, said he has abandoned
plans to contest an upcoming presidential election because of legal
obstacles.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In central Mali a
suicide bomber in a vehicle painted in UN colors attacked the Sevare
headquarters of the G5 Sahel, an international anti-terror task
force. Two soldiers, a civilian and two attackers were killed.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)(AFP, 6/29/18)(SFC, 6/30/18,
p.A2)(AP, 7/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Pakistani high
court overturned a tribunal decision disqualifying outgoing PM
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from running in his home constituency.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In northern
Pakistan Austrian mountaineer Christian Huber was killed when an
avalanche hit the climbers' tent during a strong storm at a height
of 5,900 meters (6,455 yards) on Ultar Sar Peak in the Hunza Valley.
   (AP, 6/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Polish sprinter
Irena Szewinska (72), the most famous athlete in Polish sports
history, died in Warsaw. She dominated women's athletics for two
decades, winning seven Olympic medals.
   (AP, 6/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Russia Oleg
Navalny (35), the brother of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was
released from prison after serving a 3½-year term on fraud charges.
His verdict was widely seen as retribution for the political
activities of his brother, who got a suspended sentence in the same
trial.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Police fired stun
grenades and rubber bullets at protesters in eSwatini (Swaziland) as
they marched against poor service delivery, alleged misuse of state
pension funds and a proposed law to charge citizens who marry
foreigners.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said more than 120,000 civilians have
been uprooted by a Syrian army offensive in the southwest since it
began last week.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Turkey formally
arrested Eren Erdem, a former opposition lawmaker, over alleged
links to the Gulen movement, the group blamed for the 2016 attempted
coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
   (AFP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Ukrainian
military said four Ukrainian servicemen were killed and two were
wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern
conflict zone over the past 24 hours.
   (Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The UN's migration
agency snubbed the Trump administration's candidate to lead it.
Portuguese Socialist and former EU commissioner Antonio Vitorino
(61) won an election to be the next director-general of the
International Organization for Migration, edging out both a top IOM
official and US candidate Ken Isaacs.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Pope Francis
accepted the resignation of Melbourne's Archbishop Denis Hart (77),
who said he'd prefer jail to telling civil authorities about any sex
abuse of children that might be revealed to him in the confessional.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US Pres. Donald
Trump arrived in Seoul ahead of a trip to the Demilitarized Zone the
following day and a possible third meeting with the North's Kim Jong
Un.
   (AFP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, US officials said
an El Salvadoran man (43) who crossed into the US with his daughter
collapsed at a border station in McAllen, Texas, and soon died at a
hospital.
   (AP, 6/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Gary Duncan
(b.1946), co-lead guitarist for the Quicksilver Messenger Service
band, died ten days after suffering a fall at his home in Woodland,
Ca.
   (SFC, 7/5/19, p.C1)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In northern
Afghanistan Taliban militants killed at least 26 members of a
pro-government militia in Baghlan province. In the south Taliban
insurgents killed eight election officials late today in a bomb
attack in Kandahar province. The Taliban also attacked the police
security cordon protecting Farah city, Farah province, killing four
security officers. The Taliban also attacked army checkpoints in the
Bala Buluk district of Farah province killing five and wounding
seven others.
   (Reuters, 6/29/19)(AP, 6/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In London four
people were murdered in a bloody 28-hour period, including a heavily
pregnant woman who was stabbed to death.
   (Reuters, 6/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Tons of Canadian
garbage left in the Philippines for years arrived back home, putting
an end to a festering diplomatic row that highlighted how Asian
nations have grown tired of being the world's trash dump. The trash
will be incinerated at a waste-to-energy facility.
   (AFP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Chinese President
Xi Jinping signed an order for a prisoner amnesty, to mark the 70th
anniversary on October 1 of the founding of the People's Republic of
China, though many exceptions will apply. Nine categories of
prisoner will be pardoned, including convicts who fought against the
Japanese in World War Two.
   (Reuters, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In southern France
hundreds of firefighters battled to contain wildfires as a stifling
heatwave brought record-breaking temperatures to parts of Europe,
killing at least three people in Italy.
   (Reuters, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In northern India
customs officials in Punjab seized narcotics worth $390 million that
were smuggled from neighboring Pakistan, in the country's largest
seizure of illegal drugs.
   (AP, 7/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In western India a
4.5-meter (15-foot) high wall collapsed on a cluster of tin-roofed
huts housing migrant workers and their families following heavy
rains, killing at least 16 people in Pune, Maharashtra state.
   (AP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Indonesian police
arrested Para Wijayanto, a man believed to be the leader of the
al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network, who has eluded capture
since 2003. Counter-terrorism police also arrested at least four
other suspects linked to Wijayanto, a student of Abu Bakar Bashir,
the alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more
than 200 people.
   (AP, 7/1/19)(Reuters, 7/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Italian
government said a still-life painting (Vase of Flowers) by the Dutch
master Jan van Huysum, which was looted by retreating Nazi troops in
World War Two, will be returned to Florence. It was originally put
on display in Florence in 1824 after it was bought by Grande Duke
Leopoldo II for his art collection.
   (Reuters, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Italy Sea-Watch
3 captain Carola Rackete (31) was arrested for docking at Lampedusa
without permission, despite threats of jail time, with a shipload of
desperate migrants.
   (AFP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe and Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin announced new initiatives to
further expand economic ties and tourist exchanges between the two
nations, but have made no visible progress on a decades-long
territorial dispute.
   (AP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Japan President
Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping agreed to a cease-fire in their
nations' yearlong trade war. Trump told the Chinese president, Xi
Jinping, at a G20 summit in Japan that building concentration camps
to “re-educate” Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province was the right
thing to do. This was made public by John Bolton in 2020 as he
promoted a new book.
   (AP, 6/29/19)(The Independent, 6/18/20)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A brawl between
Kazakh workers and their Arab colleagues in one of the country's
largest oil fields left 30 people injured. The brawl was reportedly
triggered after a Lebanese contractor posted a photo on WhatsApp
featuring a Kazakh female colleague that many in the former Soviet
nation saw as insulting. The injured engineers and workers included
Lebanese, Jordanians and Palestinians.
   (AP, 6/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Libya strongman
Khalifa Haftar threatened to attack Turkish interests in Libya after
suffering a serious setback in his push to take the capital Tripoli,
accusing Ankara of backing his rivals.
   (AFP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mexican
immigration officials returned 81 migrants to Haiti after attending
to "technical" considerations.
   (AP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Mexico tens of
thousands of people paraded through the streets of Mexico City to
celebrate the capital's growing role as a beacon of tolerance for
migrants fleeing persecution for their gender and sexuality.
   (Reuters, 6/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In central Mexico
unidentified gunmen shot dead Israeli electronic music DJ Ronen
Dahan (45), also known as Perplex, during an attack at a dance club
in San Luis Potosi. Three other people were wounded and one later
died of his injuries in a hospital.
   (Reuters, 6/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, North Macedonia
held its first Gay Pride march, in a test of the Balkan country's
record on respecting minority rights as it seeks to join the EU.
   (Reuters, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Pakistan the
bullet riddled body of Aftab Aurangzeb (19) was found late today at
a river bank in his home town of Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province. Pakistani police soon arrested Aurangzeb Akbar for
murdering his transgender son.
   (AP, 6/30/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Qatar a fresh
round of talks between the US and the Taliban began in Doha, just
days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington is
hoping for an Afghan peace agreement before Sept. 1.
   (AP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Saudi Arabia
intercepted two Yemeni rebel drones. The first drone targeted the
province of Jizan and the second was aimed at a residential area in
Asir province.
   (AFP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Spain was hit by
more wildfires as temperatures remained sky-high in the Europe-wide
heatwave.
   (AFP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Swiss police in
Geneva fired water cannon, tear gas and stun grenades at Cameroonian
protesters outside UN headquarters as the crowd surged towards a
luxury hotel hosting Cameroon's Pres. Paul Biya.
   (AFP, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Venezuela's
government deported 59 Colombian citizens who had been "arbitrarily"
detained there almost three years ago.
   (Reuters, 6/29/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Venezuela
Corvette Capt. Rafael Acosta died early today hours after his wife
and lawyer said he had appeared in court in a wheelchair with signs
of torture. Authorities late today confirmed the death. Opposition
leaders and family members said he was tortured in custody after his
detention on June 21 over alleged involvement in a coup plot against
Pres. Nicolas Maduro.
   (AP, 6/30/19)(Reuters, 6/30/19)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Eight Republican
lawmakers attended a White House briefing about explosive
allegations that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked
militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan — intelligence
the White House insisted the president himself had not been fully
read in on.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics,
reasserting a commitment to abortion rights over fierce opposition
from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case
of the Trump era.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court in a 5-4 ruling handed President Donald Trump more authority
over a federal agency charged with protecting consumers in the
financial sector, empowering him to fire its director at will and
ruling that the structure it was given by Congress violated the US
Constitution.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The US Supreme
Court paved the way for President Donald Trump's administration to
carry out the first federal executions since 2003, turning away an
appeal by four inmates challenging the lethal injection protocols
due to be used.
   (Reuters, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Arizona Gov. Doug
Ducey ended a somewhat contentious news conference by imploring
people to wear face masks. Arizona has seen its cases go from 13,000
on May 15 to 74,500 today, and deaths from the virus have nearly
doubled in the last six weeks. More than 1,500 people have died.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In California
Joseph DeAngelo (74) accused of being the Golden State Killer,
pleaded guilty in Sacramento to 13 counts of first-degree murder in
a deal that will spare him the death penalty. He will be sentenced
later to life without the possibility of parole.
   (NBC News, 6/29/20)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, California to
date had 222,046 cases of coronavirus and 5,970 deaths. The SF Bay
Area had 24,464 cases and 573 deaths. Total cases nationwide reached
over 2,586,844 with the death toll at 126,123.
   (sfist.com, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Carl Reiner (98),
a driving force in American comedy, died at his home in Beverly
Hills. He was a writer for television pioneer Sid Caesar, partner of
Mel Brooks and creator and co-star of the classic sitcom "The Dick
Van Dyke Show" (1961).
   (Reuters, 6/30/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Jacksonville, Fl.,
ordered the wearing of face coverings amidst a surge in coronavirus
infections.
   (SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Broadway
League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry,
said New York City's iconic Broadway shows will be suspended through
the rest of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
   (Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Oklahoma two
police officers were shot during a traffic stop. Suspect David
Anthony Ware (32) was arrested following a search that lasted over
seven hours. Sgt. Craig Johnson died the following day.
   (SFC, 7/1/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Seattle police
investigated a deadly shooting early today near the self-declared
Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone. A boy (16) was killed and a
younger teenager was wounded.
   (NBC News, 6/29/20)(SFC, 6/30/20, p.A4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Some 205 people in
West Virginia were being asked to quarantine themselves and watch
for symptoms after a Planet Fitness member in Morgantown tested
positive for COVID-19. People who were there between 9 a.m. and 3
p.m. local time on June 24 were asked to stay home for 14 days since
being exposed.
   (Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Medical device
maker Danaher Corp said its COVID-19 blood test for detecting if a
person had ever been infected with the new coronavirus received
emergency use clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Gilead announced
that it will charge $2,340 for a typical treatment course of
remdesivir for patients covered by government health programs in the
United States and other developed nations where the drug is
authorized for use. The price would be $3,120 for patients with
private health insurance in the United States.
   (Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Afghanistan a
bombing and mortar shells fired at a busy market in Helmand province
killed at least 23 people, including children. The next day the UN
mission in Afghanistan said its findings indicate the Afghan
military had mistakenly fired the mortars at the market that left 23
people dead.
   (SFC, 6/30/20, p.A2)(AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Bangladesh a
passenger boat collided with a ferry in Dhaka leaving at least 30
people drowned, including three children.
   (SFC, 6/30/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, China reported
just 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, as the
country which was the original epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic
continues to see a downward trend in infections.
   (Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Chinese online
tutoring startup Zuoyebang said it has raised $750 million in a
fresh funding round, led by investment firms FountainVest Partners
and Tiger Global Management, as the COVID-19 crisis spurs investor
interest in education technology.
   (Reuters, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A new study said a
strain of the H1N1 swine flu, known as G4 EA H1N1, has been
spreading silently among workers on pig farms in China since 2016.
In 2009 H1N1 spread around the world killing about 285,000 people.
   (AP, 7/1/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Egypt an
intensive care unit at a hospital in Alexandria caught fire, killing
seven COVID-19 patients. Egypt's Health Ministry reported 1,566
infections, including 83 deaths, bringing the total to 66,754 and
2,872 fatalities––the highest death toll in the region.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Ethiopia
musician Hachalu Hundessa (34), well known for his political songs,
was shot and killed on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Several people
were arrested. Demonstrations soon broke out in response and seven
died during the spontaneous protests. Security forces cut off the
Internet when the violence started.
   (BBC, 6/30/20)(Econ., 7/11/20, p.37)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Finnish telecoms
equipment maker Nokia Oyj said it has won a 5G contract worth about
400 million euros ($449.48 million) from Taiwan Mobile to build out
the telecom operator's next-generation network as the sole supplier.
   (Reuters, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, A Paris court
found French former prime minister Francois Fillon guilty of having
used public funds to pay his wife and children for work they never
performed. His wife, Penelope Fillon, was also found guilty as an
accomplice. Mr Fillon was sentenced to five years in prison, with
three years suspended. Mrs. Fillon was given a three-year suspended
sentence. Both were fined €375,000 each as well.
   (The Telegraph, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Greece eased
coronavirus lockdown measures and allowed movie theaters, casinos
and children's summer camps to reopen.
   (SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, New Delhi said
late today that TikTok was among the 59 apps which it believed posed
a "threat to sovereignty and integrity," following its recent border
clash with China. Some 200 million users soon lost access to the
app. Roposo, a local rival, got 2.2 million sign-ups in 48 hours.
   (Reuters, 6/30/20)(Econ., 7/25/20, p.50)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, India reported
nearly 20,000 new coronavirus infections. The country has confirmed
548,318 cases with the death toll at 16,475.
   (SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iran issued an
arrest warrant for Donald Trump and 35 other US political and
military figures for the January 3 killing, by drone strike, of
Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Interpol would need to approve the
request for a red notice, and analysts say this is unlikely as the
move would be deemed as politically motivated.
   (AP, 6/29/20)(The Telegraph, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Iran reported 162
more deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day toll
since the country's outbreak began in February. The additional 2,536
new cases brought the total to 225,205. The overall official death
toll is now at 10,670.
   (AFP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq 14
pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah fighters, arrested in an unprecedented
raid last week by elite Iraqi forces, were released and the case
against them dropped. The judge ordered their release due to a lack
of evidence.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Iraq a new mass
grave was discovered in the village of Humeydat near the Badoush
area west of the city of Mosul, six years after the IS group
declared a caliphate that stretched across eastern Syria and much of
northern and western Iraq. Many believe they were Shiite convicts
taken from the local Badoush prison by IS and killed by the
militants, shortly after they seized Mosul in June 2014.
   (AP, 7/3/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel's defense
minister said PM Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to begin annexing West
Bank territory will have to wait due to the country's coronavirus
crisis.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Libyan tribes
loyal to military commander Khalifa Hifter offered to end their
blockade of the country’s oil production, which has cost Libya over
$6 billion since January, as part of a political settlement in the
war-torn country.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Pakistan at
least three people were killed today after gunmen stormed the stock
exchange in the city of Karachi. A separatist group, the Baluchistan
Liberation Army, claimed responsibility.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Philippines'
anti-money laundering agency said it would conduct a "swift and
thorough" investigation into scandal-hit German payments firm
Wirecard AG and that it has drawn up an initial list of people and
entities of interest.
   (Reuters, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Puerto Rico's Gov.
Wanda Vazquez extended a coronavirus curfew for three more weeks,
even as she authorized the reopenings of certain businesses and
government agencies.
   (SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Russia's
coronavirus headquarters reported 6,719 new cases of COVID-19,
bringing the nationwide total to 641,156. Russia's death toll from
the disease now stands at 9,166, after an additional 93 patients
died over the past 24 hours.
   (Good Morning America, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In Serbia
authorities in Belgrade made the wearing of face masks mandatory in
all closed spaces in the capital. The country reported 242 new cases
today.
   (SFC, 6/30/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, In northern Syria
imprisoned members of the Islamic State group rioted in a jail
controlled by US-backed fighters, demanding fair trials and visits
by their families. Some detainees were wounded.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The UN World Food
Program said millions of people have been pushed into hunger by the
coronavirus pandemic, as it appealed for nearly $5 billion to help
feed the growing numbers in poor and middle-income countries.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The UN Security
Council voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the UN
peacekeeping force in Mali for a year and called for a long-term and
detailed plan for it to hand over security responsibilities and
leave the West African nation.
   (AP, 6/29/20)
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