Today in History - August 12
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3CE Aug 12,
Venus-Jupiter were in conjunction: alleged "Star of Bethlehem." [see
Feb 17, May 8, Jun 17, 2CE]
(MC, 8/12/02)
875 Aug 12, Louis II (~50),
king of Italy, emperor of France, died.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1093 Aug 12, In England the
foundation stone for Durham Cathedral was laid down. The main chapel
was completed in 1175. It served as the seat of the Bishop and the
church of the Benedictine monastery of Durham.
(SSFC, 12/14/08,
p.E4)(www.sacred-destinations.com/england/durham-cathedral.htm)
1099 Aug 12, At the Battle of
Ascalon 1,000 Crusaders, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, routed an
Egyptian relief column heading for Jerusalem. The Norman Godfrey,
elected King of Jerusalem, had assumed the title Defender of the
Holy Sepulcher. Disease starvation by this time reduced the
Crusaders to 60,000, down from an ititial 300,000, and most of the
survivors left for home.
(HN, 8/12/99)(PC, 1992, p.88)
1332 Aug 12, Battle of Dupplin
Moor; Scottish dynastic battle.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1484 Aug 12, Pope Sixtus IV
died. His rule was marked by nepotism and he was involved in a
conspiracy to overthrow the Medici in Florence.
(PTA, 1980, p.420)
1508 Aug 12, Ponce de Leon
arrived and conquered the island of Boriquen (Puerto Rico). Spain
had appointed him to colonize Puerto Rico. He explored Puerto Rico
and Spanish ships under his command began to capture Bahamanian
Tainos to work as slaves on Hispaniola. His settlement at Caparra, 2
miles south of San Juan Bay, was plagued by Taino Indians and
cannibalistic Carib Indians.
(NH, 10/96, p.23)(SC,
8/12/02)(http://welcome.topuertorico.org/glossary/index.shtml#936)
1553 Aug 12, Pope Julius III
ordered the confiscation and burning of the Talmud.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1612 Aug 12, Giovanni Gabrieli
(60), Italian composer (Madrigals), died.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1644 Aug 12, Heinrich Ignaz
Franz von Biber, composer, was born.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1644 Aug 12, Georg Christoph
Leuttner, composer, was born.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1658 Aug 12, The 1st US police
corps formed in New Amsterdam.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1676 Aug 12, Indian chief King
Philip, also known as Metacom, was killed by a Pocasset Indian
named Alderman in the swamps of Rhode Island. This ended the King
Philip’s War. Benjamin Church, a Plymouth volunteer, ordered that
Philip be beheaded and quartered. [see Aug 28]
(AH, 6/02, p.50)
1687 Aug 12, At the Battle of
Mohacs, Hungary, Charles of Lorraine defeated the Turks.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1753 Aug 12, Thomas Bewick
(d.1828), artist (British Birds, Aesop's Fables) was born in
England.
(http://www.nndb.com/people/067/000094782/)
1762 Aug 12, George IV, King of
England (1820-1830), was born. He was named Prince Regent in 1810
when his father was declared insane.
(HN, 8/12/98)(WSJ, 4/5/02, p.W12)
1762 Aug 12, The British
captured Cuba from Spain after a two month siege.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1774 Aug 12, Robert Southey,
English poet laureate (1813-1843) and biographer of Nelson, was
born.
(HN, 8/12/98)(SC, 8/12/02)
1781 Aug 12, Robert Mills,
architect and engineer, was born. His designs include the Washington
Monument, the National Portrait Gallery and the U.S. Treasury
Building.
(HN, 8/12/00)
1811 Aug 12, John FE Acton
(77), cruel premier of Naples, died.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1812 Aug 12, British commander
the Duke of Wellington occupied Madrid, Spain, forcing out Joseph
Bonaparte.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1820 Aug 12, Oliver Mowat, a
founder of the Canadian Confederation, was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1827 Aug 12, William Blake
(b.1757), English visionary engraver and poet, died. In 2001 G.E.
Bentley Jr. authored "The Stranger From Paradise: A Biography of
William Blake."
(SSFC, 5/27/01, DB p.73)(MC, 8/12/02)
1833 Aug 12, Chicago
incorporated as a village of about 350.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago)
1848 Aug 12, George Stephenson,
locomotive engineer, died.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1851 Aug 12, Isaac Merritt
Singer was granted a patent on his lockstitch sewing machine. He
formed I.M. Singer & Co. in New York City and soon began selling
machines for $100 each. In 4 years he expanded to Scotland becoming
the first American int’l. company.
(AP, 8/12/97)(SSFC, 11/7/10, p.N1)
1856 Aug 12, Anthony Fass
patented an accordion.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1859 Aug 12, Katherine Lee
Bates (d.1929), educator, author and composer of "America the
Beautiful," was born.
(WUD, 1994 p.126)(HN, 8/12/01)
1861 Aug 12, Texas rebels were
attacked by Apaches.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1862 Aug 12, Gen John Hunt
Morgan and his raiders capture Gallatin, TX.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1863 Aug 12, 1st cargo of
lumber left Burrard Inlet in the Vancouver, BC area.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1864 Aug 12, After a week of
heavy raiding, the Confederate cruiser Tallahassee claimed six Union
ships captured.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1866 Aug 12, Jacinto Benavente
y Martinez, Spanish dramatist (Nobel 1922), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1867 Aug 12, Edith Hamilton, US
writer (Mythology), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1867 Aug 12, US House member
Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) led the Radical Republicans in a move
to impeach President Andrew Johnson. The move was sparked when
Johnson defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M.
Stanton.
(AP, 8/12/97)(AH, 2/06, p.12)
1875 Aug 12, Ettore Panizza,
composer, was born.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1876 Aug 12, Mary Roberts
Rinehart, mystery writer (Miss Pinkerton), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1879 Aug 12, The 1st National
Archery Association tournament was held in Chicago.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1881 Aug 12, Cecil B. DeMille
(d.1959), pioneering motion picture director, was born in Mass.
Before becoming a household name in the early days of movie-making,
he attended the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts and in 1900 began
working on plays with his older brother William. The director,
producer and screenwriter was most famous for his movie "The Ten
Commandments."
(HNPD, 8/12/98)(HN, 8/12/98)(SC, 8/12/02)
1884 Aug 12, Frank Swinnerton,
novelist (Summer Storm, Sanctuary), was born in England.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1887 Aug 12, Erwin Schrodinger,
physicist, was born in Austria.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1888 Aug 12, Bertha, wife of
inventor Karl Benz, made the 1st motor tour.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1889 Aug 12, Zerna Sharp,
creator of the "Dick and Jane" reading books, was born.
(HN, 8/12/00)
1890 Aug 12, Al Goodman
Nikopol, orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), was born in Russia.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1893 Aug 12, Howard Smith,
actor (Harvey Griffin-Hazel), was born in Attleboro, Mass.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1898 Aug 12, Hawaii was
formally annexed to the United States.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1898 Aug 12, The peace protocol
ending the Spanish-American War was signed after three months and 22
days of hostilities. 460 US soldiers died in battle. The US paid
Spain $20 million to vacate Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the
Philippines. Over the next 3 years US casualties in the Philippines
war totaled over 4,000. [see Dec 10]
(AP, 8/12/97)(WSJ, 2/23/98, p.A20)(HN,
8/12/00)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.D1)(WSJ, 7/2/03, p.B1)
1900 Aug 12, Wilhelm Steinitz,
Chess champion (1866-1894), died in Prague.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1904 Aug 12, Aleksei N.
Romanov, son of tsar Nicolas II, was born.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1908 Aug 12, Henry Ford's first
Model T rolled off the assembly line.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1911 Aug 12, Cantinflas
(d.1993), comedian and film star, was born in Mexico City as Mario
Moreno.
(HFA, '96, p.36)(HN, 8/12/98)(MC, 8/12/02)
1912 Aug 12, Jane Wyatt,
actress (Father Knows Best, Star Trek), was born in Campgaw, NJ.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1913 Aug 12, Kurt Kaszner,
actor (Cmdr Fitzhugh-Land of the Giants), was born in Vienna,
Austria.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1914 Aug 12, Great Britain
declared war on Austria-Hungary.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1915 Aug 12, The
autobiographical novel "Of Human Bondage," by William Somerset
Maugham, was first published.
(AP, 8/12/97)(SSFC, 1/4/04, p.M2)
1919 Aug 12, Peter Ambrose
Cyprian Luke, playwright, was born.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1919 Aug 12, Michael Kidd
[Milton Greenwald], choreographer (7 Brides for 7 Bros), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1921 Aug 12, Marjorie Reynolds,
actress (Peggy-Life of Riley), was born in Buhl, Idaho.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1922 Aug 12, The home of
Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. was dedicated as a memorial.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1923 Aug 12, Enrico Tiraboschi
became the 1st to swim English Channel westward.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1925 Aug 12, Norris McWhirter,
author (Guinness Book of World Records), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1925 Aug 12, Ross McWhirter,
author (Guinness Book of World Records), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1925 Aug 12, KMA-AM in
Shenandoah, IA, began radio transmissions.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1926 Aug 12, John Derek, actor,
director (10, Annapolis Story), was born in LA, Calif.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1927 Aug 12, Ralph Waite, actor
(John-Waltons, Roots), was born in White Plains, NY.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1928 Aug 12, The 9th Olympic
Games closed in Amsterdam. During the games several women collapsed
at the end of the 800-meter run. This led to a 32-year ban on women
running in Olympic races over 200 meters.
(SC, 8/12/02)(SSFC, 4/13/03, p.F1)
1928 Aug 12, Leos Janacek
(b.1854), Czech composer, conductor (Sly Little Fox), died. His work
included "The Diary of One Who Vanished" based on 22 poems by Josef
Kalda of a young farm boy seduced by a Gypsy girl.
(WSJ, 1/3/96, p.A-7)(WSJ, 6/12/01, p.A20)(MC,
8/12/02)
1929 Aug 12, Buck Owens,
country singer (Hee Haw), was born in Sherman, Texas.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1932 Aug 12, Porter Wagoner,
country singer, discovered Dolly Parton (Y'All Come), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1932 Aug 12, The DJIA dropped
8.4%
(SFC,10/17/97, p.B2)
1934 Aug 12, Augustus E. Thomas
(b.1857), American Playwright, died. He is often called the first
playwright to deal in thoroughly American themes.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0858501/)
1936 Aug 12, Hans Haacke,
artist (Right to Life, Dripper Boxes), was born in Cologne, Germany.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1936 Aug 12, John Poindexter,
US Chief of Staff, was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1936 Aug 12, 120° F
(49° C), Seymour, Texas (state record).
(SC, 8/12/02)
1936 Aug 12, Diver Marjorie
Gestring became the youngest Olympic gold medalist (13y 268d).
(SC, 8/12/02)
1939 Aug 12, George Hamilton,
actor (Love at 1st Bite, Where the Boys Are), was born in Memphis,
Ten.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1940 Aug 12, Luftwaffe bombed
British radar stations and lost 31 aircraft.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1941 Aug 12, Deborah Walley,
actress (Mothers-in-Law), was born in Bridgeport, Ct.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1941 Aug 12, Jennifer Warren,
actress (Slap Shot, Fatal Beauty, Mutant), was born in NYC.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1941 Aug 12, French Marshal
Henri Philippe Petain announced full French collaboration with Nazi
Germany.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1942 Aug 12, British premier
Churchill arrived in Moscow to meet Stalin.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1944 Aug 12, Churchill and Tito
met in Naples.
(MC, 8/12/02)
1944 Aug 12, Joseph P. Kennedy
Jr., eldest son of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was killed
with his co-pilot when their explosives-laden Navy plane blew up
over England during World War II.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1949 Aug 12, Mark Knopfler,
guitar, vocals (Dire Straits-Sultans of Swing), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1949 Aug 12, Four Geneva
Conventions were signed on this date. Signatories agreed that
occupiers would not settle occupied territory with their own people.
Protection of civilian life and property was added to the 4th Geneva
Conventions. The Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War began on April 21. Two additional protocols were
signed in 1977.
(SFC, 8/11/00, p.A15)(Econ, 8/27/05,
p.39)(www.spj.org/gc-texts.asp)
1951 Aug 12, Charles E. Brady
Jr., USN Commander, astronaut, was born in, Pinehurst, NC.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1952 Aug 12, In the USSR 13
former members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (JAC) were
executed following mock trials.
(WSJ, 1/19/08,
p.W8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Anti-Fascist_Committee)
1953 Aug 12, Ann Davidson, the
1st woman to sail solo across Atlantic, arrived Miami.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1953 Aug 12, The Soviet Union
conducted a secret test of its first hydrogen bomb.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1954 Aug 12, Sam J. Jones,
actor (Chris-Code Red, The Highway Man), was born in Chicago, Ill.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1954 Aug 12, Pat Metheny, jazz
guitarist (As Wichita Falls), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1955 Aug 12, Pres Eisenhower
raised the minimum wage from $0.75 to $1 an hour.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1955 Aug 12, Thomas Mann (80),
German writer (Dr. Faustus, Nobel 1929), died. Two biographies of
Mann were published in 1995: Thomas Mann: A Biography by Ronald
Hayman and Thomas Mann: A Life by Donald Prater.
(V.D.-H.K.p.367-368)(WSJ, 12/26/95, p. A-5)(MC,
8/12/02)
1959 Aug 12, The 1st ship
firing of a Polaris missile was from Observation Island.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1960 Aug 12, Morty Black, heavy
metal rocker (TNT-7 Seas), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1960 Aug 12, USAF Major Robert
M White takes X-15 to 41,600 m.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1960 Aug 12, The first balloon
satellite, the Echo 1, was launched by the US from Cape Canaveral,
Fla. It bounced phone calls from JPL in California to the Bell Labs
in New Jersey.
(AP, 8/12/97)(SFC, 4/9/02, p.A18)
1961 Aug 12, Pete De Freitas,
rocker (Echo and the Bunnymen-Heaven Up Here), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1961 Aug 12, Roy Hay, guitarist
(Culture Club-Do You Really Want to Hurt Me), was born.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1961 Aug 12, East German troops
began stringing barbed wire around East Berlin. In 2004 William F.
Buckley authored "The Fall of the Berlin Wall." [see Aug 15]
(WSJ, 3/18/04, p.D10)
1962 Aug 12, A day after
launching Andrian Nikolayev into orbit, the Soviet Union launched
Vostok 4 with cosmonaut Pavel Popovich; both men landed safely on
Aug 15.
(AP, 8/12/02)
1964 Aug 12, Charles Ogle, land
investor, vanished after flying out of Oakland, Ca., en route to
Reno, Nevada.
(SFC, 9/10/07, p.A1)
1964 Aug 12, There was a race
riot in Elizabeth, NJ.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1964 Aug 12, Ian L. Fleming
(56), British spy, journalist, writer (James Bond), died. He had
recently sold a 51% share of the copyright of his books to Sir Jock
Campbell, who chaired the Booker Brothers. In 2000 Fleming’s heirs
bought back the copyright to the books.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Fleming)(Econ,
5/31/08, p.90)
1965 Aug 12, There was a race
riot in West Side of Chicago.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1969 Aug 12, American
installations at Quan-Loi, Vietnam, came under Viet Cong attack.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1969 Aug 12, In Northern
Ireland the Apprentice Boys, a Protestant fraternal group, led a
parade that ignited rioting in the Bogside section of Londonderry,
that led to the bloody period known as The Troubles. Loyalists
attacks on Catholic areas set off rioting in Belfast. Eight people
died and British troops were sent in. The Provisional Irish
Republican Army began a 25-year sniping and bombing campaign.
(SFC, 8/10/96, p.A8)(SFEC, 12/22/96, Z1
p.7)(http://tinyurl.com/ddovv8)
1970 Aug 12, Curt Flood lost
his $41 million antitrust suit against baseball. On June 18, 1972,
the US Supreme Court upheld the lower court's rulings on Flood's
case. Baseball continued to be exempt from antitrust laws and its
reserve clause was upheld.
(www.scripophily.net/cuflasmi19.html)
1971 Aug 12, Syrian Pres Assad
dropped diplomatic relations with Jordan.
(www.answers.com/topic/1971)
1972 Aug 12, "Oh! Calcutta!"
closed at Belasco Theater in NYC.
(http://www.blogwaybaby.com/2005/01/bring-back-oh-calcutta.html)
1972 Aug 12, As the last U.S.
ground troops left Vietnam, B-52's made their largest strike of the
war. [see Aug 11]
(HN, 8/12/98)(AP, 8/12/01)
1976 Aug 12, Syrian backed
Christian militias completed their siege of the Tell al-Za'tar
Palestinian camp in Lebanon leaving some 2000 people killed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_al-Zaatar_massacre)
1977 Aug 12, NASA launched the
High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1 into Earth orbit. It continued
operating until January 9, 1979.
(http://heasarc.nasa.gov/docs/heao1/heao1.html)
1977 Aug 12, The space shuttle
Enterprise passed its first solo flight test by taking off atop a
Boeing 747, separating and then touching down in California's Mojave
Desert.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1978 Aug 12, China and Japan
normalized relations. Japan signed a Peace and Friendship Treaty
with China in Beijing.
(www.taiwandocuments.org/beijing.htm)(Econ,
8/23/03, p.34)
1978 Aug 12, Pope Paul VI, who
had died six days earlier at age 80, was buried in St. Peter's
Basilica.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1981 Aug 12, President Reagan,
citing alleged Libyan involvement in terrorism, ordered U.S. jets to
attack targets in Libya.
(AP, 12/19/03)
1981 Aug 12, IBM introduced the
IBM 5150, better known as the PC, along with PC-DOS version 1.0. The
beige box with 16 kilobytes of memory was priced at $1,565.
(http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa033099.htm)(Econ,
7/29/06, p.57)
1982 Aug 12, The US stock
market bottomed and rose 35% by the end of the year. Theorist Robert
S. Prechter predicted that the market would take off from its 800
levels.
(SFEC, 8/16/98,
p.B1)(www.wealtheffect.com/stocks/b8j.asp)
1982 Aug 12, Henry Fonda (77),
film star (On Golden Pond), died from heart disease. Fonda was
married 5 times and his wives included actress Margaret Sullavan
(1931-1933), Frances Brokaw (1936-1950), Susan Blanchard
(1950-1956), Afdera Franchetti (1957-1961) and Shirlee Adams
(1965-1982).
(TMC, 1994, p.1982)(SC, 8/12/02)(SSFC, 7/3/05,
Par p.2)
1982 Aug 12, Israel staged
heavy bombardment of Beirut. The UN Security council expressed its
most serious concern about continued military activities in Lebanon,
particularly in and around Beirut.
(www.pierretristam.com/Bobst/Archives/CN072106.htm)(http://tinyurl.com/3ddtqm)
1983 Aug 12, General Manuel A.
Noriega (b.1938) assumed command of Panama’s National Guard.
(www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Panama89eng/intro.htm)
1984 Aug 12, In San Francisco a
driver on an apparent suicide mission smashed head-on into a packed
cable car climbing the Hyde Street hill. The driver, an Iranian
alien, was killed and at least 23 people were injured.
(SSFC, 8/2/09, DB p.42)
1985 Aug 12, The world's worst
single-aircraft disaster occurred as a crippled Japan Air Lines
Boeing 747 on a domestic flight crashed into Mount Otsuka, 70 miles
northwest of Tokyo, killing 520 of 524 people onboard. A flawed
splice made by Boeing 7 years earlier was the probable cause. In
2006 Japan opened a museum to remember the crash. Boeing and JAL
paid undisclosed settlements to each victim’s family. Singer Kyu
Sakamoto, whose song "Sukiyaki" topped US hit charts in 1963, was
among the dead.
(AP, 8/12/97)(WSJ, 7/27/06, p.A1)(AFP, 8/12/10)
1987 Aug 12, President
Reagan addressed the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, saying his
former national security adviser, John Poindexter, was wrong not to
have told him about the diversion of Iran arms-sale money.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1988 Aug 12, The controversial
movie "The Last Temptation of Christ," directed by Martin Scorsese,
opened in nine cities despite objections by some Christians who felt
the film was sacrilegious.
(AP, 8/12/98)
1988 Aug 12, Richard Thornburgh
became US Attorney General.
(www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/88aug.htm)
1988 Aug 12, Sein Lwin resigned
from the presidency of Burma. He was succeeded by a civilian, Maung
Maung, who in turn was ousted by the military after just a month in
office.
(AP, 4/10/04)
1988 Aug 12, Michel Basquiat
(b.1960), NY artist of Haitian descent, died of a drug overdose at
age 27. His work included "Academic Study of Male Figure" (1983) and
"Boy and Dog in a Johhnypump." In 1996 Julian Schnabel made a film
documentary titled "Basquiat." In 1998 Phoebe Hoban published
"Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art."
(SFC, 8/17/96, p.E1)(SFC, 8/16/96, p.D3)(SFEC,
7/26/98, BR p.4)
1989 Aug 12, The Pentagon said
it was stepping up efforts to find missing Texas Rep. Mickey Leland
and 15 companions in Ethiopia. The wreckage of the group's airplane,
with no survivors, was found the next day.
(AP, 8/12/99)
1990 Aug 12, Air Force Staff
Sergeant John Campisi of West Covina, California, died after being
hit by a military truck in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first US
casualty of the Persian Gulf crisis.
(AP, 8/12/00)
1990 Aug 12, Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein sought to tie any withdrawal of his troops from
Kuwait to an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
(AP, 8/12/00)
1991 Aug 12, The National
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, began hosting a
two-day reunion of former Negro League players.
(AP, 8/12/01)
1991 Aug 12, A letter from
Lebanese kidnappers was made public; it offered to trade the release
of Western hostages for the freedom of "all detainees" worldwide.
(AP, 8/12/01)
1992 Aug 12, The North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was announced in Washington, D.C. after
14 months of negotiations between the United States, Mexico and
Canada. It created the world's wealthiest trading bloc. [see Jan 1,
1994]
(AP, 8/12/97)(HN, 8/12/02)
1992 Aug 12, Avant-garde
composer John Cage died in New York at age 79.
(WSJ, 5/8/96, p.A-12)(AP, 8/12/97)
1993 Aug 12, President Clinton
signed a relief package for the flooded Midwest. Clinton also lifted
a ban on rehiring air traffic controllers fired for going on strike
in 1981.
(AP, 8/12/98)
1993 Aug 12, Pope John Paul II
began his third U.S. visit in Denver.
(AP, 8/12/98)
1993 Aug 12, The launch of
space shuttle Discovery was scrubbed at the last second.
(AP, 8/12/98)
1994 Aug 12, Woodstock '94
opened in Saugerties, N.Y.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1994 Aug 12, In baseball's
eighth work stoppage since 1972, players went on strike rather than
allowing team owners to limit their salaries.
(AP, 8/12/99)
1994 Aug 12, Supreme Court
Justice Stephen G. Breyer, already sworn in during a private
ceremony, took a public oath at the White House.
(AP, 8/12/99)
1995 Aug 12, In a methodical,
daylong procession, Republican presidential candidates courted Ross
Perot’s followers at a United We Stand America conference in Dallas.
(AP, 8/12/00)
1996 Aug 12, The Republican
Party opened its 36th national convention in San Diego by
celebrating Bob Dole as a tested, trustworthy leader who would lower
taxes and bring compassionate conservatism to the White House.
(AP, 8/12/97)
1996 Aug 12, "Inequality by
Design," due out in one month, was reviewed. It was produced as a
counter to the arguments of "The Bell Curve" and holds that social
policies, not IQ, are the main reasons for inequality.
(SFC, 8/12/96, p.A2)
1996 Aug 12, Stephen Kuttner
(1907-1996), Prof. of medieval church law, died. His life study
involved tracing the evolution of law from Roman to modern times.
(SFC, 8/15/96, p.C4)
1996 Aug 12, In Argentina
economy minister Roque Fernandez announced a new round of austerity
measures that included higher fuel prices and tax boosts on
everything. Cash will be raised by selling commercial airports,
military installations, nuclear power plants and cracking down on
tax-evasion.
(WSJ, 8/13/96, p.A7)
1996 Aug 12, On the shores of
Australia’s Cocos and North Keeling Islands thousands of thongs
(flip-flops) have been washing up on the shore as discards from
Indonesia.
(WSJ, 8/12/96, p.B1)
1996 Aug 12, Iran and Turkey
agreed to connect their power networks.
(WSJ, 8/13/96, p.A7)
1996 Aug 12, In Somalia it was
reported that 2 Ethiopian businessmen were killed in retaliation for
an incursion by Ethiopia’s army.
(WSJ, 8/12/96, p.A1)
1996 Aug 12, In Rwanda the
Tutsi-led parliament passed a law allowing for trials of some 80,000
people on charges of genocide in the deaths of 500,000 people in
1994.
(WSJ, 8/12/96, p.A1)
1997 Aug 12, Steel workers in
West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania ended a 10-month strike at
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. with a new contract. It was the
longest strike by a major steel company.
(SFC, 8/13/97, p.A3)(AP, 8/12/98)
1997 Aug 12, Two New York City
police officers were placed in desk jobs as authorities investigated
the charges of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who accused police
of sodomizing him after his arrest in a nightclub fight. Louima's
subsequent civil suit against the city resulted in a settlement of
$8.75 million on July 30, 2001, the largest police brutality
settlement in NYC history. After legal fees, Louima collected
approximately $5.8 million.
(AP,
8/12/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima)
1997 Aug 12, A hamburger recall
issued to cover some 1.2 million pounds. The Hudson Foods Inc., of
Rogers, Ark., issued the recall due to E. coli poisonings in
Colorado. [see 8/21]
(SFC, 8/22/97, p.A3)
1997 Aug 12, In Arizona a flash
flood from a storm 15 miles away killed ten hikers in the Lower
Antelope Canyon near Lake Powell. The group leader of the
Trek-America outfit, that catered mostly to Europeans, was the only
survivor.
(SFC, 8/14/97, p.A3)(SFC, 8/15/97, p.A2)(AP,
8/12/98)
1997 Aug 12, It was reported
that the World Bank joined the IMF in withholding credit from Kenya
due to government corruption.
(SFC, 8/12/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 12, It was reported
that Laos was promoting the development of the $1.44 billion Nam
Theun Two Dam. It would alter 2 major tributaries of the Mekong
River and flood an area the size of Singapore. The World Bank
contributed $130 million to the project, which was expected to begin
generating power in 2009. Environmentalists feared severe impact to
the Nakai Plateau and some 120,000 people downstream as one river
dries up and another swells.
(WSJ, 8/12/97, p.A1)(SFC, 12/17/07, p.A15)
1997 Aug 12, From Lithuania it
was reported that the country has become a favorite transit point
for smugglers. Cigarettes, alcohol, home appliances, oil, amber,
gas, cars and illegal narcotics were crossing the borders.
(SFC, 8/12/97, p.A10)
1998 Aug 12, A Lockheed Martin
Titan 4A rocket exploded after takeoff at Cape Canaveral. The $300
million rocket carried a spy satellite for the Air Force
valued at $800 to $1 billion. The explosion was blamed on a
momentary loss of power.
(SFC, 8/13/98, p.A2)(SFC, 9/3/98, p.A3)
1998 Aug 12, In Bangladesh over
100 fisherman in trawlers and boats capsized in the Bay of Bengal
during a storm and were feared dead.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A12)
1998 Aug 12, The flooding in
China, the worst in 4 decades, was estimated to surpass $24 billion
in costs.
(SFC, 8/13/98, p.C5)
1998 Aug 12, Vincente Fox,
governor of Guanajuato, Mexico, announced plans, during a speech in
Oakland, to run for president in the year 2000 and to have every one
of his state’s 4,500 communities provided with potable water,
sewers, electricity, telephones and health services within a half
hour for everyone.
(SFC, 8/14/98, p.A10)
1998 Aug 12, In Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto was indicted on charges of illegally awarding a
contract to a Dubai-based company for the import of gold and silver
during her rule.
(SFC, 8/13/98, p.C5)
1998 Aug 12, Rwanda protested a
Congo crackdown on ethnic Tutsis and charged that Kabila was arming
Rwandan Hutus to put down a Tutsi-led revolt along the border. The
revolt in Congo was believed to be masterminded by Rwandan Major
Gen’l. Paul Kagame.
(WSJ, 8/13/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/17/98, p.A10)
1998 Aug 12, Representatives of
Swiss banks and holocaust survivors agreed to a settlement of $1.25
billion in reparations for victims of the Nazi regime.
(SFC, 8/13/98, p.A1)(AP, 8/12/99)
1998 Aug 12, In the Ukraine
Prime Minister Valery Pustovitenko called 1,500 executives to a
civil defense base to solve the question of their debts. A previous
summons had net 70 million, but was not sufficient to cover the $3.5
billion budget deficit.
(SFC, 8/14/98, p.A10)
1999 Aug 12, Los Angeles County
prosecutors charged white supremacist Buford O. Furrow (b.1961) with
murder and five counts of attempted murder, all filed as hate
crimes, in the August 10 wounding of five people at a Jewish
community center and the shooting death of a Filipino-American mail
carrier. Federal prosecutors already had charged Furrow in the
postman’s slaying. In 2001 Furrow pleaded guilty to all of the
counts against him. In exchange for pleading guilty, Furrow avoided
a possible death sentence, but was instead sentenced to life in
prison without the possibility of parole. Furrow expressed no
regrets for any of his crimes.
(AP,
8/12/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buford_O._Furrow,_Jr.)
1999 Aug 12, In Porterville,
Ca., a man shot and killed his wife and 3 daughters (2,7,11). An
explosion resulted after the shooting when fire spread and ignited
flammable liquid.
(SFC, 8/14/99, p.C14)
1999 Aug 12, The invention of a
new rechargeable battery with a 50% longer life span was announced
by researchers in Israel.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 12, In Belgium a
McDonald's Restaurant was destroyed by fire. The Animal Liberation
Front was suspected.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.B8)
1999 Aug 12, Ethiopia claimed
to have almost eliminated 3 rebel groups based in Somalia which it
said were supported by Eritrea. Most of the 1,103 killed or captured
rebels were of the Oromo Liberation Front.
(SFC, 8/13/99, p.D2)
1999 Aug 12, In Indonesia
violence in Maluku province left 14 people dead and raised the death
toll since Aug 8 to 53.
(SFC, 8/13/99, p.D2)
1999 Aug 12, In Japan lawmakers
gave police the power to use wiretaps against crime suspects.
(SFC, 8/13/99, p.D3)
1999 Aug 12, In Kazakstan Pres.
Nazarbayev ordered the investigation of MiG sales to North Korea.
South Korea charged that 30 MiG-21 jets were sold this year.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 12, In the Philippines
a big explosion killed at least 7 people in Manila and damaged the
headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation. Police later
blamed the explosion on dynamite that had been seized as evidence.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/14/99, p.12)(WSJ,
8/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 12, Pres. Milosevic
reshuffled his cabinet, sacked 7 ministers and named 12 new ones.
His Socialist Party dominated the 27-member cabinet.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.A9)
1999 Aug 12, In Venezuela the
Constitutional Assembly assumed sweeping powers and declared a state
of emergency for the courts.
(SFC, 8/13/99, p.D3)
2000 Aug 12, Evander Holyfield
won a 12-round unanimous decision over John Ruiz in Las Vegas for
the vacant WBA heavyweight title.
(AP, 8/12/01)
2000 Aug 12, Loretta Young,
film actress, died at age 87. She made nearly 100 movies in over 70
years. She had a daughter, Judy Lewis, by Clark Gable in 1935. Her
memoir "The Things I Had to Learn" was published in 1961. In 2000
Joan Wester Anderson authored "Forever Young."
(SFEC, 8/13/00, p.B10)(SFC, 11/18/00, p.B7)
2000 Aug 12, British and US
bombers struck southern Iraq for a 2nd day and Iraqi military
reported 3 people injured.
(SFC, 8/14/00, p.A12)
2000 Aug 12, In Congo a
Russian-made Antonov crashed on approach to Tshikapa and 27 people
were killed.
(WSJ, 8/14/00, p.A1)
2000 Aug 12, A Russian nuclear
submarine, the Kursk, became trapped on the floor of the Barents Sea
during naval exercises. 118 sailors were trapped in the Oscar-II
class submarine that was thought to have suffered a torpedo-room
explosion. On August 21 Norwegian divers confirmed that all the
sailors had died. The Kursk was raised in 2001.
(SFC, 8/14/00, p.A13)(SFC, 8/15/00, p.A1)(WSJ,
8/15/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/16/00, p.A1)(SFC, 8/21/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/9/01,
p.A1)
2001 Aug 12, In Algeria
assailants attacked a convoy of farmers and slashed the throats of
17 people in Oule-d-Bouaza.
(SFC, 8/15/01, p.A7)
2001 Aug 12, In Iran flash
floods followed heavy rains and at least 181 people were killed.
Kalaleh in Golestan province was the hardest hit.
(SFC, 8/13/01, p.A12)(WSJ, 8/14/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 12, In Israel
Palestinian suicide bomber Muhammad Nasser (28) blew himself up at
the Wall Street Café in Kiryat Motzkin near Haifa. 21 other
people were injured. In Hebron a Palestinian girl died in a clash
with Israeli troops.
(SFC, 8/13/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/13/01, p.A1)(AP,
8/12/02)
2001 Aug 12, Macedonia's
interior minister Ljube Boskovski watched from a distance as police
under his control rampaged through Ljuboten, killing seven ethnic
Albanian men and torching and blowing up houses. In 2007 defendants
Boskovski and a top police official faced a possible punishment of
life imprisonment. The policemen who allegedly carried out the
killings were not on trial.
(AP, 4/16/07)
2002 Aug 12, The INS reported
that a child-smuggling ring, in operation since 1994, had been
broken up. Children from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras were
smuggled to the US to be united with parents residing illegally.
(SFC, 8/13/02, p.A1)
2002 Aug 12, US Catholic
bishops and rabbis issued a statement that declared that the
Biblical covenant between Jews and God is valid, and therefore Jews
do not need to be saved through faith in Jesus.
(SFC, 8/13/02, p.A5)
2002 Aug 12 It was reported
that a 2-mile thick cloud of pollution covered South Asia and that
it was suspected for causing drought, flooding and the premature
deaths of a half-million people in India each year.
(SFC, 8/12/02, p.A7)
2002 Aug 12, In Chile hundreds
of thousands of Santiago residents had to walk to work as a strike
took virtually all the buses off the streets in this capital city of
5.5 million people.
(AP, 8/12/02)
2002 Aug 12, In Colombia Pres.
Alvaro Uribe, declared a limited state of emergency to fight what
the government described as a "regime of terror" following an
upsurge of violence that has left 100 people dead since he took
office.
(AP, 8/12/02)
2002 Aug 12, In northeastern
Iran torrential rains began and at least 35 people were drowned in
flash floods that washed away roads and swamped farm land.
(AP, 8/13/02)
2002 Aug 12, Iraq's information
minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf told the Arabic satellite
television station Al-Jazeera that there was no need for U.N.
weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad and branded as a "lie"
allegations that Saddam Hussein still had weapons of mass
destruction.
(AP, 8/12/03)
2002 Aug 12, In Japan
protesters ripped up and threw away documents printed with new ID
numbers. A new database that stores personal data, names, addresses,
dates of birth, gender and the new ID numbers, for each of Japan's
126 million citizens, was implemented days earlier.
(AP, 8/12/02)
2002 Aug 12, Palestinian
factions met to create a "national unity leadership" to include all
major groups, including militant ones such as Hamas. They endorsed a
continuation of their uprising and rejected language to end attacks
on civilians inside Israel.
(AP, 8/12/02)
2002 Aug 12, In Peru Pres.
Alejandro Toledo defended his wife, Eliane Karp, in a nationally
televised address, trying to head off a political storm sparked by
the revelation that Peru's first lady earns $10,000 a month as a
banking consultant.
(AP, 8/13/02)
2003 Aug 12, The FBI arrested
Hemant Lakhani, an Indian-born British arms dealer, in a sting
operation in New Jersey and foiled a contrived plot aimed at
smuggling a shoulder-fired missile for some $80,000 to US-based
terrorists. It involved cooperation between the intelligence
services of the US and Russia.
(AP, 8/13/03)(WSJ, 8/13/03, p.A1)(SFC, 8/14/03,
p.A3)
2003 Aug 12, John Poindexter
submitted a 5-page letter of resignation from his position as
director of DARPA, the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency.
(SFC, 8/13/03, p.A5)
2003 Aug 12, Some 8,000 US
doctors called for a government-financed national health insurance
as a single-payer system similar to an expanded version of Medicare.
(SFC, 8/13/03, p.A3)
2003 Aug 12, An Internet worm
targeting Microsoft Corp Windows users was spreading rapidly around
the world, triggering computer crashes and slowing Web connections.
Dubbed Blaster but also known as LoveSan or MSBlaster, carried a
message for the Microsoft chairman: "Billy Gates why do you make
this possible? Stop making money and fix your software!!"
(AP, 8/12/03)
2003 Aug 12, A balsa-mylar
model airplane set a long distance flight record of 1,888.3 miles as
it landed in Ireland from Newfoundland.
(WSJ, 8/13/03, p.A1)
2003 Aug 12, At least 20
combatants died in a gunbattle between suspected Taliban fighters
and Afghan government soldiers.
(AP, 8/13/03)
2003 Aug 12, Legislators in
Argentina's lower house voted to throw out amnesty laws that
effectively ended trials over abuses during the country's military
dictatorship.
(AP, 8/13/03)
2003 Aug 12, El Salvador sent
360 peacekeepers to Iraq.
(AP, 8/13/03)
2003 Aug 12, Two teenage
Palestinian suicide bombings less than an hour apart killed at least
2 Israelis at a shopping plaza in Israel and a bus stop in the West
Bank.
(AP, 8/12/03)
2003 Aug 12, Liberia's leading
rebel movement agreed to lift its siege of the capital and vital
port within two days, allowing food to flow to hundreds of thousands
of hungry people.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2003 Aug 12, The Serbian
government said it wants to retake control of Kosovo but pledged to
give it "substantial autonomy." Serbia claimed UN officials have
failed to establish democracy there.
(AP, 8/13/03)
2004 Aug 12, New Jersey Gov.
James E. McGreevey, a one-time rising Democratic star and
twice-married father, announced his resignation with the startling
disclosure that he is gay and had an extramarital affair with a man
who threatened to undermine his "ability to govern."
(AP, 8/13/04)
2004 Aug 12, California’s
supreme court struck down San Francisco’s attempt to legalize
same-sex marriages, saying Mayor Newsome had illegally defied state
law.
(SFC, 8/13/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 12, Terrance Kelly
(18), a De La Salle High School football star, was shot and killed
in Richmond, Ca., 2 days before flying to the Univ. of Oregon on a
football scholarship. Police arrested Larry Pratcher (18) Aug 14 on
suspicion of murder and searched for other suspects. Larry was
released on Aug 18 after his younger brother turned himself in. On
Aug 19 Darren Pratcher (15) was charged with murder. On Oct 11,
2006, Darren Pratcher was convicted of murder. In 2007 Pratcher was
sentenced 50 years to life in prison.
(SFC, 8/14/04, p.A1)(SFC, 8/20/04, p.B5)(SFC,
10/12/06, p.B1)(SFC, 1/20/07, p.B2)
2004 Aug 12, Dust storms on
I-10 in Arizona caused vehicle pile-ups that left 4 dead.
(WSJ, 8/13/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 12, It was reported
that a huge ant colony measuring 100 kilometers (62 miles) across
had been found under the southern Australian city of Melbourne. The
ants were a mutant variety of Argentine ants.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2004 Aug 12, Laboratory monkeys
that started out as careless procrastinators became super-efficient
workers after injections into their brains that suppressed a gene
linked to their ability to anticipate a reward.
(LAT, 8/12/04)
2004 Aug 12, Greece’s $930
million, 3km Rion-Antirion bridge across the western end of the Gulf
of Corinth was set to open.
(Econ, 7/31/04, p.55)
2004 Aug 12, In Najaf thousands
of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers launched a major assault on militiamen
loyal to a radical Shiite cleric al-Sadr. Fighting in Kut left 72
dead.
(AP, 8/12/04)(WSJ, 8/13/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 12, The Iraqi soccer
team defeated Portugal in a preliminary match outside Athens.
(SFC, 8/13/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 12, The U.N. Security
Council unanimously approved a resolution extending the U.N. mission
in Iraq for a year.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2004 Aug 12, Japan’s Mitsubishi
Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG) announced that it had beaten the
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for the acquisition of UFJ. [see Aug
30]
(Econ, 8/14/04, p.66)
2004 Aug 12, A Nepali court
sentenced notorious criminal Charles Sobhraj, also known as the
"Serpent" and the "Bikini Killer", to life imprisonment in
connection with the killing of an American backpacker in 1975.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2004 Aug 12, In northeastern
Nigeria flash floods have submerged houses and farms, drowning at
least 23 people as they slept and forcing more than 1,000 to flee
their villages.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2004 Aug 12, Pakistan
authorities said they had arrested five more suspected members of
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network in the past 48 hours.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2004 Aug 12, In Peru a
double-decker tourist bus missed a bridge and plunged into a dry
riverbed along a highway, killing at least six people and injuring
37.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2004 Aug 12, Lee Hsien Loong,
the son of Singapore's founding father (Lee Kuan Yew), took over as
prime minister of the city-state. Lee Kuan Yew continued service as
cabinet mentor.
(AP, 7/17/04)(WSJ, 7/19/04, p.A1)(Econ, 7/24/04,
p.39)(Econ, 4/22/06, p.42)
2004 Aug 12, South Korea’s
central bank cut interest rates from 3.75% to 3.5%.
(Econ, 8/21/04, p.60)
2005 Aug 12, The US Agriculture
Dept. said it expected corn yields to be lower this year in 29 of 33
corn-producing states due to drought in the Midwest. This year’s
drought was more localized and farmers in Iowa, Minnesota and
Missouri had a good year.
(SFC, 8/15/05, p.A2)
2005 Aug 12, Patrick Sheehan
filed for divorce in Solano County, Ca., as his wife, Cindy Sheehan
(48), entered her 2nd week camping outside Pres. Bush’s retreat in
Crawford, Texas. Their son Casey (24) was killed in Iraq in 2004.
(SFC, 8/16/05, p.A3)
2005 Aug 12, It was reported
that Dr. Jan T. Vilcek donated an estimated $125 million to the NYU
School of Medicine through a percentage of future royalties from
sales of Remicade, which treats symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and
Crohn’s disease.
(WSJ, 8/12/05, p.W1)
2005 Aug 12, Oil for September
delivery closed at a record $66.86 per barrel.
(SFC, 8/13/05, p.A1)
2005 Aug 12, Residents of
Wright, Wyoming, had just 5 minutes warning before a tornado tore
into a mobile home park, killing two people and destroying dozens of
homes.
(AP, 8/13/05)
2005 Aug 12, An Atlas V rocket
at Cape Canaveral, Fla., lifted the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on a
72 million-mile mission to study Mars.
(SFC, 8/13/05, p.A4)
2005 Aug 12, In Afghanistan
suspected Taliban guerrillas ambushed a vehicle carrying police in
southern Zabul province's Arghandab district, sparking a gunbattle
that killed 3 militants.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, Police detained
four men in connection with one of the world's biggest heists and
recovered more than $2 million of the $70 million stolen from
Brazil's Central Bank. The recovered cash was found hidden in 3
pickup trucks that were on a vehicle transporter truck located
several hundred miles from the Central Bank vault in Fortaleza. In
2008 police arrested Jossivam Alves dos Santos, the suspected leader
of the gang which carried out the heist. Less than $10 million of
the money has been recovered.
(AP, 8/13/05)(AP, 2/27/08)
2005 Aug 12, In Brazil Celio
Marcelo da Silva (32), a prison escapee believed to have
masterminded last year's abduction of the mother of a Brazilian
soccer star, was arrested. In 2003 da Silva tunneled his way out of
a Sao Paulo prison where he was serving a 38-year sentence for
murder and robbery.
(AP, 8/13/05)
2005 Aug 12, At least 70,000
travelers were left stranded as British Airways canceled all flights
to and from Heathrow Airport after catering staff, baggage handlers
and other ground crew walked off the job in wildcat strikes at the
height of the summer tourism season.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, Liu Jinbao, a
former president of state-owned Bank of China's Hong Kong branch
fired in May, 2003, received a suspended death sentence for
embezzlement in an apparent effort by Beijing to help restore faith
in its scandal-plagued banks as they prepare to sell shares abroad.
Mr. Liu was convicted of embezzling $1.8 million with others plus
and additional amount for himself.
(AP, 8/12/05)(WSJ, 8/15/05, p.A11)
2005 Aug 12, A small boat
overloaded with 113 illegal immigrants capsized and sank in rough
waters off Colombia's Pacific coast. An Ecuadoran fishing boat found
9 survivors 2 days later. In Nov. Ecuadoran police arrested a
married couple for being part of a gang of 11 human traffickers who
charged as much as $12,000 per person for passage to the US.
(AP, 8/18/05)(AP, 11/15/05)
2005 Aug 12, Leaders of Georgia
and Ukraine called for an alliance that would champion democracy in
the former Soviet lands.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, A German court
convicted Holger Pfahls, former deputy defense minister, of
accepting illegal payments and evading taxes while serving in the
government of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, Victims of India's
1984 anti-Sikh riots rejected apologies from Premier Manmohan Singh
and vowed to intensify demands for the prosecution of politicians
blamed for the massacre that claimed 4,000 lives.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, Suspected Islamic
militants raided a remote mountain village in India's Jammu-Kashmir
state and attacked 2 Hindu families as they dined together, killing
5 people.
(AP, 8/13/05)
2005 Aug 12, In Iraq Sunni Arab
leaders rejected calls for a Shiite federal region to be enshrined
in the constitution.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, In Iraq a US
soldier was found dead of a gunshot wound.
(AP, 8/14/05)
2005 Aug 12, Smoke from forest
fires in Indonesia spread to more cities in Malaysia, as millions
prayed in mosques and temples for rain to wash away the hazardous
haze.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, Lebanon freed the
radical Muslim cleric Omar Bakri, hours after Britain declared he
would not be allowed to return to its shores.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, A Mexican judge
issued an arrest warrant for Gen. Francisco Quiros, accused of
ordering the disappearance of leftist folk singer Rosendo Radilla on
Aug 25, 1974. Quiros was already in prison serving a drug sentence.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, New regulations in
Tijuana, Mexico, called for the city to issue electronic cards to
replace pink, pocket-size health history books given to Tijuana's
4,700 registered prostitutes. The new standards were modeled after
those in the Mexican cities of Monterrey and Acapulco.
(AP, 9/16/05)
2005 Aug 12, Peter Hommerson, a
fugitive charged with killing a wealthy Illinois couple on Jan 23,
1996, was captured at a Mexican resort after tourists recognized him
from a crime watch television program.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, The Nepali army
said faulty Indian assault rifles were partly responsible for its
heavy death toll in a gun battle with Maoist rebels as troops hunted
for 75 soldiers still missing after the fighting.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, In Sri Lanka
foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar (73), an ethnic Tamil, was shot
in the head and heart after finishing a swim at his home. Tamil
Tiger rebels denied involvement.
(AP, 8/13/05)
2005 Aug 12, Suriname's Pres.
Ronald Venetiaan (69) was inaugurated to a second term, calling for
national unity following elections that weakened his government's
hold on Parliament and swelled the ranks of a party led by a former
dictator.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 12, Turkish PM Recep
Tayyip Erdogan pledged to give more rights to the Kurdish minority
in a speech in Diyarbakir.
(Econ, 8/20/05, p.40)(http://tinyurl.com/cmzxz)
2005 Aug 12, Venezuela’s Vice
President Jose Vicente Rangel said American citizens could be denied
visas to visit Venezuela in response to a US decision to revoke the
visas of three Venezuelan military officers.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2006 Aug 12, Thousands of
people gathered across from the White House, even though President
Bush was out of town, to condemn US and Israeli policies in the
Middle East. In SF thousands of protesters decried US Mideast policy
and Israel’s military actions in Lebanon and Palestine. A smaller
group demonstrated on behalf of Israel.
(SSFC, 8/13/06, p.B1)(AP, 8/12/07)
2006 Aug 12, Afghanistan's
Health Ministry said the worsening security situation contributed to
a fourfold rise in polio cases this year, almost entirely in the
insurgency-wracked south. A highway police commander was killed by a
blast on his way to work in eastern Lagman province.
(AP, 8/12/06)
2006 Aug 12, Rashid Rauf and
Tayib Rauf (22), brothers arrested in Pakistan and England, emerged
as key figures in the suspected plot to destroy US-bound aircraft
during flight. Prominent Muslims in Britain accused the government
of encouraging extremism through its foreign policy. In 2007 a court
in Rawalpindi ordered the release of Rashid Rauf, a British Muslim
of Pakistani origin, after the prosecution withdrew the case against
him.
(AP, 8/12/06)(WSJ, 8/12/06, p.A1)(AP, 11/16/07)
2006 Aug 12, President Joseph
Kabila's share of the vote in Congo's historic elections rose above
50% as 1 million more votes were counted and certified.
(AP, 8/13/06)
2006 Aug 12, The government
said PM Nouri al-Maliki had banned the Kurdistan Workers Party, a
rebel group fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey, from
operating in Baghdad. Two people were killed in the southern city of
Basra when a bomb exploded at a shop selling CDs featuring sermons
and interviews of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Police
found a dozen bodies trapped in a grate in the Tigris River, and a
roadside bomb killed two US soldiers on a foot patrol south of
Baghdad as nearly 50 violent deaths were reported across Iraq.
(AP, 8/12/06)(AP, 8/13/06)
2006 Aug 12, Oil smuggling in
Iraq was said to be worth $4 billion a year.
(Econ, 8/12/06, p.40)
2006 Aug 12, Israel staged
wide-ranging airstrikes and sent commandos into the Hezbollah
heartland as the UN raced to begin enforcing its new cease-fire
blueprint and stop the heavy fighting still raging in southern
Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said the militant
organization would abide by the UN cease-fire resolution but would
keep fighting as long as Israeli troops remained in southern
Lebanon. Israel lost 24 soldiers, including five on a helicopter
shot out of the air by guerrillas.
(AP, 8/12/06)(AP, 8/13/06)
2006 Aug 12, In Indian Kashmir
7 people, including two civilians mistaken by the army for Islamic
guerrillas, died as a strike paralyzed life in the region's main
city.
(AFP, 8/12/06)
2006 Aug 12, In northern Italy
the stabbed body of Hina Saleem (21) was found in the garden of the
family home at Sarezzo. She was killed by her father because she
refused to conform to an Islamic lifestyle. News reports said the
family had been insisting on an arranged marriage with a cousin in
Pakistan. The father and three other men, including her uncle, were
charged with premeditated murder and hiding the body.
(AP, 9/7/06)(http://tinyurl.com/rfr4z)
2006 Aug 12, A passenger bus
skidded off a highway in central Mexico and rolled down a 320-foot
slope, killing 13 people and injuring a dozen others.
(AP, 8/12/06)
2006 Aug 12, Nigeria pulled
thousands of troops out of the Bakassi peninsula ahead of an August
12 UN deadline for a complete withdrawal, but many residents said
they would resist a handover to Cameroon.
(AP, 8/13/06)
2006 Aug 12, In Northern
Ireland about 15,000 Protestants paraded through Londonderry,
predominantly Roman Catholic city, following a night of Catholic
rioting.
(AP, 8/12/06)
2006 Aug 12, Hundreds of
paratroopers joined the struggle to control scores of forest fires
in northwestern Spain. A total of 24 people have been arrested since
Aug. 1 on suspicion of deliberately starting many of the fires.
(AP, 8/13/06)
2006 Aug 12, Sri Lankan rebels
attacked a key naval base as they mounted a fierce push to retake a
northeastern peninsula considered the traditional home of the
country's ethnic Tamils. Sri Lankan war planes bombed Tiger rebel
positions as the fiercest fighting since a 2002 ceasefire left at
least 127 people dead. A Sri Lanka government spokesman said the
Tamil Tiger rebels offered to renew peace talks. Weeks of intense
fighting brought Sri Lanka close to resuming its civil war. Ketheesh
Loganathan, a Tamil senior peace official, was assassinated. He was
deputy chief of the secretariat which coordinated the government's
side of a Norway-brokered peace process.
(AP, 8/12/06)(AFP, 8/12/06)(AP, 8/13/06)
2006 Aug 12, The Ugandan army
killed Raska Lukwiya, the third in command of the rebel Lord's
Resistance Army and war crimes fugitive, which could affect the
stalled south Sudan-mediated peace talks.
(AFP, 8/13/06)
2006 Aug 12, The UN Security
Council adopted a resolution seeking a "full cessation" of violence
between Israel and Hezbollah, offering the region its best chance
yet for peace after a month of fighting that has killed more than
800 people and inflamed Mideast tensions.
(AP, 8/12/06)
2007 Aug 12, Tiger Woods
captured the PGA Championship to win at least one major for the
third straight season and run his career total to 13.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2007 Aug 12, Tommy Thompson,
former governor of Wisconsin, said he was dropping out of the
Republican presidential campaign following his 6th place finish in
Iowa’s straw poll.
(SFC, 8/13/07, p.A2)
2007 Aug 12, Ronald Bracewell
(86), retired Stanford professor, died. He co-wrote the first text
on radio astronomy and helped develop magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) technology. The Australian-born engineer also led the 1961
construction of the 32-dish radio telescope at Stanford and authored
a book on 350 species of trees on the Stanford campus.
(SFC, 8/16/07, p.B11)
2007 Aug 12, A Canadian woman
(35) gave birth to rare identical quadruplets. Karen Jepp of
Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by
Caesarian section at Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls, Montana.
(AP, 8/16/07)
2007 Aug 12, In southwest
Missouri a gunman opened fire at the First Congregational Church
killing three people and wounded five. The local Micronesian
congregation rented the church for its services and the gunman, also
Micronesian, deliberately targeted elders of the congregation.
Suspect Eiken Elam Saimon was charged with murder. On March 20,
2009, Saimon (54) pleaded guilty to 3 counts of murder.
(AP, 8/13/07)(AP, 8/12/08)(SFC, 3/21/09, p.A4)
2007 Aug 12, Merv Griffin (82),
television talk show host and entrepreneur, died. He created the TV
game show “Jeopardy” in 1964 and sold the rights for the show to
Coca-Cola for $250 million in 1986.
(AP, 8/13/07)(SFC, 8/13/07, p.A1)
2007 Aug 12, Afghanistan and
Pakistan pledged to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in their
respective tribal regions and fight the opium trade financing
Islamic militants. Pakistan’s President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told
more than 600 Afghan and Pakistani tribal leaders that the two
countries have been mired in the rise of militancy, extremism and
radicalism while the rest of the world races forward with economic
development. He spoke at the closing session of a four-day US-backed
cross-border jirga, or tribal council, aimed at finding ways to stem
Afghanistan's rising bloodshed. In southern Afghanistan police and
army soldiers battled militants in Kandahar province's Shohrawak
district. The joint Afghan forces thwarted a planned militant ambush
at the district chief's compound, and the ensuing clash left nine
militants dead. During a cleanup operation after the battle, a
roadside bomb hit a police vehicle in the same district, killing
five officers and wounding two others.
(AFP, 8/12/07)(AP, 8/12/07)(AP, 8/13/07)
2007 Aug 12, In England Gerry
Tobin was shot in the back of the head as he rode home from an
annual biker event, the Bulldog Bash, in Warwickshire. Police later
arrested 3 men in connection with the shooting death of the Canadian
Hells Angel biker on the M40 motorway.
(Reuters, 8/22/07)
2007 Aug 12, In Mansoura,
Egypt, Mohamed Mamdouh Abdel-Aziz (12) died days after he was
arrested and allegedly tortured by police after he was detained on
suspicion of having stolen four packs of tea.
(http://tinyurl.com/2mo43a)
2007 Aug 12, A Hong Kong-based
human rights group said a chemical plant leaked arsenic into a river
in southern China that supplies water to at least 20,000 people.
High levels of arsenic and other chemicals already have killed at
least 10,000 fish in the Chongan, a 43-mile river in Guizhou
province.
(AP, 8/13/07)
2007 Aug 12, In India suspected
rebels killed four Hindi-speaking migrant workers before dawn and 3
more bodies were found from an earlier killing in the
insurgency-wracked northeast, bringing the death toll from a week of
violence to 30.
(AP, 8/12/07)
2007 Aug 12, In Indonesia
nearly 90,000 followers of Hizbut Tahrir, a hard-line Sunni
organization with an estimated million members, packed a stadium in
Jakarta, calling for the creation of an Islamic state.
(AP, 8/12/07)
2007 Aug 12, A woman (29) in
Bali died from infection with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
(www.news-medical.net/?id=28736)
2007 Aug 12, Up to five
militants were killed and 13 others detained during a raid on
Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City. The US military claimed those
they rounded up in that raid were linked to Tehran’s elite Quds
Force.
(AP, 8/13/07)
2007 Aug 12, In southern
Nigeria a foreigner taken hostage amid increased lawlessness died of
an illness while being taken to a hospital.
(AP, 8/12/07)
2007 Aug 12, A video was posted
on Russian ultranationalist sites of the Internet showing the brutal
execution of two men from Central Asia and the Caucasus. The man who
posted the video turned himself on Aug 14 in Maikop, capital of the
southern Russian republic of Adygei.
(AP, 8/15/07)
2007 Aug 12, In Somalia 2
suspects were arrested in the deaths of two prominent Somali
journalists who were killed within hours of each other.
(AP, 8/12/07)
2007 Aug 12, In Sri Lanka
suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful land mine against a
military patrol in the Jaffna peninsula, killing a soldier and
wounding at least 16 others. Another civilian was killed and four
others were injured when the LTTE fired mortars at a northeastern
village in Weli Oya.
(AP, 8/12/07)
2007 Aug 12, In southeast
Turkey 12 were injured, three of them seriously, when Kurdish
guerrillas detonated a roadside bomb.
(AP, 8/12/07)
2007 Aug 12, In north-eastern
Zimbabwe at least 9 people were killed and around 50 injured when a
bus collided with a car.
(AFP, 8/13/07)
2008 Aug 12, Two-thirds of US
corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005,
according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, The US Navy agreed
to restrict loud sonar blasts from anti-submarine vessels in large
areas of the world’s oceans to protect whales and other vulnerable
creatures.
(SFC, 8/13/08, p.B4)
2008 Aug 12, In California
state and federal officials celebrated the official transfer of
3,300 acres from the US Army to the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, which
will oversee the redevelopment of the 28,000-acre base on Monterey
Bay.
(SFC, 8/13/08, p.A1)
2008 Aug 12, Chicago’s
archdiocese agreed to pay over $12.6 million to settle suits by 16
people who accused priests of sex abuse. This brought the total thus
far $65 million for some 250 claims over the last 30 years.
(WSJ, 8/13/08, p.A1)
2008 Aug 12, It was reported
that Akron inventor Charlie Grispin, chief technical officer of
PolyFlow Corp., had developed a new process to recycle plastic and
that a demonstration plant in Akron showed how the process broke all
manner of plastics into their base chemicals.
(http://tinyurl.com/6xfw5s)(www.polyflowcorp.com/)
2008 Aug 12, Michael Baxandall
(74), Wales-born renowned UC Berkeley art historian, died. His books
included “Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy”
(1972).
(SFC, 9/11/08,
p.B5)(www.longitudebooks.com/find/p/13716/mcms.html)
2008 Aug 12, Donald Erb
(b.1927), avant garde composer, died in Ohio. His work included
“Reconnaissance,” one of the first chamber works for live
synthesizer and acoustic instruments. It premiered in 1967 with
synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog on the synthesizer.
(SFC, 8/19/08, p.B5)
2008 Aug 12, Dorothy Wiltse
Collins (b.1923), star pitcher in women’s professional baseball in
the 1940s, died in Fort Wayne, Indiana from a stroke. Pitching for
six seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League,
created in 1943 to provide home front entertainment while many major
leaguers were off to war, Collins dazzled opposing batters. The
All-American league went out of business after the 1954 season.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dottie_Wiltse_Collins)
2008 Aug 12, Tesco, the biggest
British retailer, announced plans to open wholesale grocery stores
in India that will supply goods to hypermarkets owned by Indian
conglomerate Tata Group.
(AFP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, Cambodia's
genocide tribunal formally indicted Kaing Guek Eav (aka Duch), a
former prison chief of the country's notorious Khmer Rouge, paving
the way for a historic trial.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, Knife-wielding
assailants attacked a road checkpoint in China's troubled far west,
killing three guards and raising the death toll to 31 from a surge
in violence coinciding with the Beijing Olympics. A bus accident in
western China killed 24 students and parents.
(AP, 8/12/08)(WSJ, 8/13/08, p.A1)
2008 Aug 12, In the Dominican
Republic former Pan American Games wrestling medalist Wilson
Santiago Rojas (31) was shot to death when he tried to prevent his
cousin from being robbed inside a Santo Domingo electronics store.
(AP, 8/14/08)
2008 Aug 12, Security forces in
Gambia arrested Rear Adm. Bubo Na Tchuto, the suspected leader of an
alleged plot to topple the government in nearby Guinea-Bissau.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, Georgia's Pres.
Mikhail Saakashvili said his government will declare that its
breakaway regions are occupied territories and will designate
Russian peacekeepers as occupying forces. Russia ordered a halt to
military action in Georgia, after five days of air and land attacks
sent Georgia's army into headlong retreat and left towns and
military bases destroyed. A Dutch television journalist was killed
overnight when Russian warplanes bombed the central Georgian city of
Gori. Russia later counted 133 civilian deaths in South Ossetia.
Rights activists later said fewer than 100 civilians were killed in
South Ossetia. The war cost some 850 lives and left over 35,000
displaced civilians, mot of the Georgian.
(AP, 8/12/08)(Econ, 8/23/08, p.43)(WSJ, 9/12/08,
p.A1)(Econ, 10/3/09, p.65)
2008 Aug 12, Indian security
forces shot dead 15 Muslim demonstrators in Kashmir amid a wave of
anger against New Delhi's control over the disputed region.
(AP, 8/12/08)(Econ, 8/23/08, p.33)
2008 Aug 12, A male suicide
bomber, dressed as a woman, struck an Iraqi army convoy carrying
senior officials in Baqouba, killing at least two people. US
soldiers over the last 24 hours captured nine suspected militants
linked to what the military called an Iranian-backed group known as
the Hezbollah Brigades in northern Baghdad.
(AP, 8/12/08)(SFC, 8/13/08, p.A6)
2008 Aug 12, The Lebanese
parliament overwhelmingly approved the country's national unity
Cabinet after a five-day debate on a controversial policy that
upholds Hezbollah's right to keep its weapons.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, Nigerian militants
claimed they had destroyed a pipeline supplying gas to a key oil
refinery in southern Rivers state.
(AFP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, A roadside bomb
destroyed an air force truck on a bridge in Pakistan's volatile
northwest and killed up to 14 people. The Taliban claimed
responsibility for the attack, calling it "an open war" and
retaliation for recent military operations in the region. A
suspected American missile strike targeting an alleged militant
gathering point killed at least nine people, including foreigners
near Angore Adda in the South Waziristan. Two intelligence officials
said between 22 and 25 people died, including Arabs, Turkmen and
Pakistani militants.
(AP, 8/12/08)(AP, 8/13/08)(SFC, 8/14/08, p.A2)
2008 Aug 12, Muslim guerrillas
began withdrawing from several occupied southern Philippine villages
following fierce fighting with government troops that has displaced
nearly 160,000 civilians during harvest time.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, Somali pirates
hijacked the Thor Star, a Thai cargo ship with 28 crew members
onboard.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 12, South Korea
announced sweeping pardons for some of the country’s most powerful
businessmen, including Lee Myung-bak, the head of leading carmaker
Hyundai Motor, saying they were needed to help revive a troubled
economy. 341,863 others were also pardoned as South Korea celebrated
liberation from Japanese colonialism.
(Econ, 8/16/08,
p.46)(http://articles.latimes.com/2008/08/12/business/fi-skpardons12)
2008 Aug 12, Spanish officials
said local police acting on a tip-off from US authorities have
seized 1.4 tons of cocaine and arrested eight South American
suspects, 6 from Colombia and 2 from Venezuela.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 12, Sudan's army began
a massive operation to wipe out rebel bases in Darfur's far north.
The army attacked with more than 200 vehicles in Wadi Atron, near
the Sudanese-Libyan border and took control of areas which had for
years been under the control of rebels who want more autonomy for
the region. North Darfur is part of Sudan's oil Block 12A operated
by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian company al-Qahtani. Chinese
companies dominate Sudan's budding oil sector which produces more
than 500,000 barrels per day of crude.
(Reuters, 8/13/08)
2008 Aug 12, Venezuela raised
the regulated prices of foods ranging from bread to beef by up to 50
percent and removed price controls from other goods in a bid to ease
sporadic shortages in supermarkets.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2009 Aug 12, Pres. Obama
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest
civilian honor, to 16 “agents of change.”
(SFC, 8/13/09, p.A5)
2009 Aug 12, In Atlanta,
Georgia, Ehsanul Islam (23) was convicted of aiding terrorist groups
by sending videotapes of US landmarks overseas and plotting to
support “violent jihad.” He faced a maximum of 60 years in prison.
(SFC, 8/13/09, p.A4)
2009 Aug 12, In Montana a
grizzly bear named Maximus, one of the largest in the state, was
found shot to death on a ranch near Dupuyer. He had stood 7½
feet tall and weighed 800 lbs.
(SSFC, 8/23/09, p.A7)
2009 Aug 12, In southern
Afghanistan helicopter-borne US Marines backed by Harrier jets
stormed a Taliban-held town before dawn, launching a new operation
(Eastern Resolve 2) to uproot Taliban fighters from a longtime base
and provide security for next week's presidential election. Marines
said they killed between seven and 10 militants in Dahaneh and
seized about 66 pounds (30 kilograms) of opium, which the militants
use to finance their insurgency. A blast on a road in the Gereshk
district of Helmand province ripped through a vehicle carrying a
family, killing 11 people, including two women and nine men. In
Kandahar province three children were killed after they started
playing with a bomb which they had found on the side of the road
west of the provincial capital.
(AP, 8/12/09)(AP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 12, Australian forces
shot 2 Afghan policemen on a motorcycle at the Dorafshan checkpoint
near Tarin Kowt. One of the Afghans was shot 16 times and died. The
other was wounded. The Australian military later said the soldiers
did not know the men were police and were acting in self-defense.
(AFP,
10/13/09)(www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/12/2653950.htm)
2009 Aug 12, In Argentina
Retired Gen. Santiago Riveros and four other members of the military
were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms in the 1976
killing of Floreal Avellaneda (14), the son of a communist activist.
(www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/87.88eng/chap5.htm)(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, Argentina’s
customs service confiscated a total of 4.2 metric tons (4.6 tons) of
pseudoephedrine, chemical that can be used to make methamphetamine,
at several government warehouses at the port in Buenos Aires during
an investigation into drug traffickers with ties to Mexico.
(AP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 12, In La Paz,
Bolivia, exploding envelopes wounded 7 people, 3 of them severely.
(AP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 12, In Chile Mapuche
activist Fabian Facundo Mendoza Collio (24) was shot and killed by
police during a confrontation with Mapuche Indians outside
Collipulli. Hours after the Collio was killed, an agricultural
warehouse in the area was set on fire, destroying about $1 million
worth of equipment.
(AP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 12, China’s state
media reported that authorities in northern China have shut down the
Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co. in Shaanxi province after it was
found to have caused lead poisoning that sickened more than 300
children. Media later reported that 851 children in Changqing
township had tested positive for lead poisoning.
(AP, 8/12/09)(AP, 8/14/09)(AFP, 8/19/09)
2009 Aug 12, The WTO upheld
American complaints that China breaks trade commitments by the way
it regulates the import and distribution of foreign publications,
films and music. The initial complaint was filed in 2007 and was
later joined by the EU, Japan, Australia and others.
(Econ, 8/15/09, p.36)
2009 Aug 12, A French teenager
(16) shot and killed his parents and twin brothers, apparently while
they were asleep in their home on the island of Corsica.
(AFP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 12, In France a
35-year-old convert to Islam, identified only as Carole, complained
of religious discrimination after trying to go swimming in a
"burquini," a full-body swimsuit, in the town of Emerainville,
southeast of Paris. Officials insisted they banned the woman's use
of the Islam-friendly suit at a local pool because of France's pool
hygiene standards.
(AP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 12, In Honduras
supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya clashed with police in
Tegucigalpa and some of them attacked the second-ranking member of
Congress.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, In Mexico’s border
city of Nuevo Laredo, city police found a bullet-ridden sport
utility vehicle belonging to the federal Communications and
Transportation Department crashed into a post on a street. There was
blood on the seats, and four department employees identified as
cargo inspectors were reported missing.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, In Nigeria US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encouraged the government to take
a firmer line on corruption and offered US help to implement badly
needed electoral reforms in Africa's biggest energy producer.
(Reuters, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, In northwestern
Pakistan's tribal belt clashes between Taliban militants and
followers of pro-government Turkistan Bitani left at least 70
fighters dead.
(AP, 8/12/09)(SFC, 8/13/09, p.A2)
2009 Aug 12, Philippine troops
overran two jungle camps of al-Qaida-linked militants in their
deadliest clash in years, with 23 soldiers and 31 guerrillas killed.
The two camps served as a stronghold and a bomb factory for the Abu
Sayyaf on Basilan. Troops found several bombs, booby traps and 15
assault rifles and grenade launchers.
(AP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 12, Russian PM
Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Abkhazia and said Russia
will spend at least 15 billion rubles ($470 million) next year to
build Russian military bases in Abkhazia and tighten the separatist
Georgian region's borders.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, Chechen Interior
Ministry spokesman Magomed Deniyev said 2 policemen were killed in
separate attacks during the night as they returned to their homes.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, Ruslan
Amerkhanov, the construction minister in Russia's violence-plagued
Ingushetia, was shot to death in his office. Ingush Security Council
secretary Alexei Vorobyov said investigators believe the killing
could be related to recent audits of construction projects that
turned up building violations and misuse of funds.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, World Bank
President Robert Zoellick pledged to boost development aid to Rwanda
to help the rebuild the country ripped apart by genocide.
(Reuters, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, In Somalia masked
gunmen killed five Pakistani preachers outside the Tawfiq Mosque in
Galkayo following morning prayers.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, Yemeni government
forces used artillery and aircraft to attack Shiite rebels near the
border with Saudi Arabia in an escalation of the five-year-old
conflict. A local government official said 20 rebels were killed. A
local Health Ministry official said 12 others died in fighting
across Saada and 51 were injured.
(AP, 8/12/09)
2009 Aug 12, Doctors at
Zimbabwe's state hospitals went on strike, demanding higher salaries
and payment of their monthly allowances.
(AFP, 8/12/09)
2010 Aug 12, Officials in
Atlanta, Georgia, arrested Elias Abuelazam (33), a suspect in a
string of 18 stabbings that left 5 people dead, at the
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int’l. airport as he was about to board
an airplane to Tel Aviv. 14 of the stabbings had taken place in
Flint, Michigan. Abuelazam was extradited to Michigan where he faced
homicide charges.
(SFC, 8/13/10, p.A7)(SFC, 8/27/10, p.A6)
2010 Aug 12, In Nevada 2 gold
miners were killed in an accident at the Meikle mine.
(SFC, 8/13/10, p.A6)(SSFC, 8/15/10, p.A9)
2010 Aug 12, In Oregon a small
plane crashed in the Steens Mountain killing 2 men, including
prominent California horse breeder Frank Vessels (58).
(SFC, 8/13/10, p.A6)
2010 Aug 12, In eastern
Afghanistan a crowd of about 300 villagers yelled "Death to the
United States" and blocked a main road as they swore that US forces
had killed three innocent villagers. NATO forces rejected the claim,
saying they had killed several suspected insurgents and detained a
local Taliban commander in the overnight raid. Elders from Zarin
Khil village said American troops stormed into a family's house and
shot three brothers, all young men, and then took their father into
custody. In nearby Paktiya province NATO and Afghan troops killed
more than 20 armed insurgents in an ongoing operation to disrupt
insurgents in the area around Dazadran district. US and Afghan
forces stepped up operations against a Taliban faction linked to
al-Qaida, arresting several key figures in the network in raids in
two eastern provinces. A British serviceman, who was injured Aug 10
in an incident involving a helicopter at a patrol base in the Nahri
Sarraj district of Helmand, died at a hospital in Britain.
(AP, 8/12/10)(AP, 8/13/10)
2010 Aug 12, Leicester City,
the English Championship soccer club, announced that a consortium
led by Thai businessman Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn has bought the
organization.
(AFP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, An Iranian man was
arrested in Brazil on suspicion of 11 murders allegedly aimed at
protecting his illegal electronics smuggling operation. Police in
the northeastern state of Ceara say Farhad Marvizi (46) hired two
rogue officers and other people to carry out the killings in the
last two years.
(AP, 8/13/10)
2010 Aug 12, In China 10,276
people in Inner Mongolia set a new world record for the longest
chain of human dominoes toppling a record set a decade earlier in
Singapore by more than several hundred.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100813/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_life_dominoes)
2010 Aug 12, In Colombia a car
bomb exploded outside a major radio station and banks in Bogota,
shattering windows and injuring at least nine people. No deaths were
reported.
(AP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, Egypt's
religious ministry launched an ambitious project to, neighborhood by
neighborhood, unify the timing and sound of the Islamic call to
prayer across Cairo, a sprawling city of 18 million. System glitches
and a communication breakdown delayed it by a day.
(AP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, French Interior
Minister Brice Hortefeux said that over 40 illegal gypsy camps have
been dismantled around the country in the last two weeks and that
700 people among those in the camps will be returned to Bulgaria and
Romania.
(SFC, 8/13/10, p.A2)
2010 Aug 12, India ordered
telephone operators to allow security agencies access to BlackBerry
services carried on their networks by the end of the month.
(AFP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, In India Cindy
Iannereli, an American from Cecil, Pa., was murdered near the Osian
resort in Rajasthan state. Her son teenager Joncarlo Patton (15) was
arrested as the prime suspect in the murder. On May 3, 2011, the boy
was sentenced to serve three years in an Indian juvenile detention
facility.
(http://tinyurl.com/3wtvvn5)(AP, 5/3/11)
2010 Aug 12, In Jamaica police
shot and killed Cedric Murray, otherwise called ‘Doggie’, an senior
member of the Montego Bay-based Stone Crusher gang, near the border
of Clarendon and Manchester. He was on Jamaica’s ‘Most Wanted List’
for the past five years.
(www.jamaicasmostwanted.com/2008/05/03/cedric-murray/)(Econ,
9/11/10, p.48)
2010 Aug 12, In Malaysia gold
coins came into circulation and could be purchased at various
locations in Kelantan state. Their worth is currently about $180 per
dinar and $4 per dirham. The gold dinar and silver dirham coins
provide an alternative to Malaysia's currency, the ringgit, in
northeastern Kelantan state, which is governed by the Pan-Malaysian
Islamic Party, a conservative opposition group that promotes
religious policies in its rule.
(AP, 8/13/10)
2010 Aug 12, Guido De Marco
(79), former president of Malta (1999-2004), died. He helped the
island nation win European Union membership (2004).
(AP, 8/13/10)
2010 Aug 12, In Mexico police
found the bodies of six people in two locations. The bodies of four
males, including two teenagers, were found with their hands and feet
bound inside a car in the town of Tepalcatepec, Michoacan state.
Minutes earlier police in Tepalcatepec found the body of a man and a
woman alongside a road.
(AP, 8/14/10)
2010 Aug 12, Demonstrators in
Morocco slapped a commercial blockade on Melilla, a Spanish enclave,
allowing in only some trucks in a dispute over alleged police
violence and racism against Moroccans entering the city. Besides a
bustling commercial flow, about 35,000 Moroccans cross daily into
Melilla, population 70,000, to work or shop.
(AP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, In Nigeria a
senior official said a cholera outbreak has killed 40 people while
115 others have been infected in northern Nigeria's Borno State in
the past week.
(AFP, 8/13/10)
2010 Aug 12, President Dmitry
Medvedev said drought has destroyed a quarter of Russia's grain crop
this year, pushing some farmers to the brink of bankruptcy and
hurting Russia's bid to expand food exports.
(Reuters, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, In Suriname Desi
Bouterse (64), a former coup leader, convicted drug trafficker and
accused murderer, was sworn in as president.
(AP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, Human Rights Watch
group said Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebels have abducted 697
people in central Africa in the past 18 months, killing at least 255
of them.
(AP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 12, In Zimbabwe a
wounded buffalo, known as one of the most aggressive animals in the
African bush, gored veteran Zimbabwean conservationist Steve Kok
(71) to death, ending his years of dedication to saving wild animals
from poachers' traps.
(AP, 8/17/10)
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