Today in History - August 15
Return to home
Buddhist Day of the Dead.
When a man went to
Buddha, bereaved over a friend's death, Buddha said throw a party.
Buddhists
hold carnivals on this day.
(WSJ, 11/2/98, p.B1)
National Relaxation Day.
(HFA, '96, p.36)
636 Aug 15, At
the Battle at Yarmuk, east of the Sea of Galilee, Islamic forces
beat a Byzantine army and gained control of Syria.
(PC, 1992, p.61)
778 Aug 15, At the Battle at
Roncesvalles the Basques beat Charlemagne.
(PC, 1992, p.67)
1040 Aug 15, In Scotland
Donnchad led an army into Moray, where he was killed by Mac Bethad
at Pitgaveny near Elgin.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth_of_Scotland)
1057 Aug 15, Macbeth, the King
of Scotland, was mortally wounded at the Battle of Lumphanan, by
Malcolm Canmore, the eldest son of King Duncan I, who was killed by
Macbeth 17 years earlier.
(AP,
8/15/07)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth_of_Scotland)
1261 Aug 15, Constantinople
fell to Michael VIII of Nicea and his army.
(HN, 8/15/98)
1519 Aug 15, Panama City was
founded.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1534 Aug 15, St. Ignatius of
Loyola, Spanish ecclesiastic, founded the Society of Jesus (the
Jesuits) in Paris with the aim of defending Catholicism against
heresy and undertaking missionary work. Ignatius converted to
Christianity while convalescing after a battle and wrote his
Spiritual Exercises meant as a guide for conversion. In Paris,
Ignatius and a small group of men took vows of poverty, chastity and
papal obedience. Ignatius formally organized the order in 1539 that
was approved by the pope in 1540. The society‘s rapid growth and
emphasis on scholarship aided in the resurgence of Catholicism
during the Counter-Reformation. The Jesuits were also active in
missionary work in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.14)(HNQ, 1/13/01)(MC, 8/15/02)
1537 Aug 15, Juan de Salazar,
Spanish pioneer, founded Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.
(SFEC, 1/12/97, Z3 p.4)(PC, 1992, p.181)
1548 Aug 15, Mary Queen of the
Scots (6), who was engaged to the Dauphin, landed in France.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.17)(MC, 8/15/02)
1549 Aug 15, Francis Xavier,
Portuguese Jesuit missionary, landed in Kagoshima, Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(ON, 11/02, p.8)(MC,
8/15/02)
1598 Aug 15, Hugh O'Neill, the
Earl of Tyrone, led an Irish force to victory over the British at
Battle of Yellow Ford.
(HN, 8/15/98)
1665 Aug 15-22, The London
weekly "Bill of Mortality" recorded 5,568 fatalities with teeth
holding the no. 5 spot. 4,237 were killed by the plague.
(SFEC, 8/2/98, BR p.7)
1688 Aug 15, Frederick-William
I, king of Prussia (1713-1740), was born.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1748 Aug 15, United Lutheran
Church of US was organized.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1760 Aug 15, Frederick II
(1712-1786), king of Prussia, defeated the Austrians at the Battle
of Liegnitz.
(HN, 8/15/98)(WUD, 1994, p.565)
1769 Aug 15, Napoleon Bonaparte
(d.1821), Emperor of France (1804-1813, 1814-1815) and continental
Europe, was born on the island of Corsica.
(WUD, 1994, p.950)(AP, 8/15/97)(HN, 8/15/02)(MC,
8/15/02)
1771 Aug 15, Sir Walter Scott
(d.1832), Scottish novelist who wrote "Ivanhoe" and "Rob Roy," was
born.
(WUD, 1994, p.1281)(HN, 8/15/98)
1785 Aug 15, Thomas De Quincey,
English writer (Confessions of English Opium Eater), was born.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1785 Aug 15, French cardinal De
Rohan (51), Bishop of Strasbourg, was arrested in the affair of the
diamond necklace.
(PC, 1992, p.335)
1795 Aug 15, Franz Joseph Haydn
left England for the last time.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1824 Aug 15, General Lafayette
returned to the US under an invitation from Pres. Monroe. Political
ribbons were printed in for the 1st time in large quantities to
celebrate his US tour.
(http://friendsoflafayette.org/data/timeline.html)
1824 Aug 15, Freed American
slaves formed the country of Liberia.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1843 Aug 15, National black
convention met in Buffalo, NY.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1843 Aug 15, The Tivoli Gardens
opened in Copenhagen.
(SFEC, 2/20/00, p.T8)(MC, 8/15/02)
1846 Aug 15, The first
California newspaper was the Californian of Monterey issued by
Colton and Semple. It was written half in English and half in
Spanish.
(SFEC, 3/8/8, BR p.6)(CVG, Vol 16, p.10)
1848 Aug 15, M. Waldo Hanchett
patented a dental chair.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1861 Aug 15, Lincoln directed
reinforcements to be sent to Missouri.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1864 Aug 15, The Confederate
raider Tallahassee captured six Federal ships off New England.
(HN, 8/15/98)
1865 Aug 15, Sir Joseph Lister
discovered the antiseptic process. [see Sep 1]
(MC, 8/15/02)
1872 Aug 15, The first secret
ballot voting in England was conducted to re-elect Hugh Childers as
MP for Pontefract in a ministerial by-election following his
appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. [see July 18]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballot_Act_1872)
1876 Aug 15, US law removed
Indians from Black Hills after gold find. Sioux leaders Crazy Horse
and Sitting Bull led their warriors to protect their lands from
invasion by prospectors following the discovery of gold. This led to
the Great Sioux Campaign staged from Fort Laramie. Gold was
discovered in Deadwood in the Dakota territory by Quebec brothers
Fred and Moses Manuel. The mine was incorporated in California on
Nov 5, 1877, as the Homestake Mining Company.
(HT, 3/97, p.43)(WSJ, 1/5/00, p.CA1)(MC, 8/15/02)
1885 Aug 15, Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor (d.1912), composer (Hiawatha's Wedding Feast), was
born in London, England.
(www.classical-composers.org)
1887 Aug 15, Edna Ferber
(d.1968), American novelist, short-story writer and playwright
(American Beauty, Cimarron), was born. The "Ice Palace" is a 1950s
Ferber novel inspired by the Northward Building in Fairbanks,
Alaska. "There are only two kinds of people in the world that really
count. One kind’s wheat and the other kind’s emeralds."
(WUD, 1994, p.523)(AP, 3/14/98)(MC,
8/15/02)
1888 Aug 15, The British
soldier T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia for his
military exploits against the Turks in World War I, was born in
Tremadoc, Wales.
(AP, 8/15/97)(HN, 8/15/98)
1890 Aug 15, Jacques Ibert,
composer (Escales), was born in Paris, France.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1899 Aug 15, Henry Ford (36)
quit his job with the Edison Illuminating Company. He soon found
backers and started the Detroit Automobile Company, with himself as
chief engineer.
(ON, 3/03, p.1)
1906 Aug 15, The 1st freight
delivery tunnel system began underneath Chicago.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1907 Aug 15, Joseph Joachim
(76), German violinist, composer, died.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1910 Aug 15, Hugo Winterhalter,
composer, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1911 Aug 15, Procter and Gamble
unveiled its Crisco shortening.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1912 Aug 15, Julia Child
(d.2004), American chef and television personality, was born as
Julia Carolyn McWilliams in Pasadena, Calif. Her 90th B-day party
was held in SF on Aug 1, 2002.
(SFEC, 9/28/97, BR p.5)(SFC, 10/20/99, Z1p.4)(HN,
8/15/00)(SFCM, 9/1/02, p.33)
1914 Aug 15, Mamah Borthwick
Cheney, the mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright, was axed to death along
with her 2 children and 4 others by a crazed servant at Wright’s
rural Taliesin home. Wright restored the house, which was set aflame
in the rampage. The house was ravaged by fire again in 1925 and
again restored by Wright.
(SFEC, 11/8/98, DB p.48)(Econ, 3/5/11,
p.92)(http://tinyurl.com/4w943ss)
1914 Aug 15, The Panama Canal
opened to traffic. The Panama Canal, a 52-mile waterway, was
completed. Some 5,000 workers, just 350 of them white, perished in
the American effort. In 1977 David McCullough authored "The Path
Between the Seas," a definitive account of the building of the
Panama Canal. In 2009 Julie Greene authored “The Canal Builders:
Making America’s Empire at the Panama Canal.”
(WSJ, 7/22/96, p.A11)(SFEC, 11/3/96, p.A16)(HN,
8/15/98)(WSJ, 10/17/02, p.A18)(SFC, 3/3/09, p.E10)
1914 Aug 15, Lt. Charles de
Gaulle (24) was injured during a German assault at Dinant.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1914 Aug 15, Anatol K. Liadov
(59), Russian composer (Baba Yaga), died.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1918 Aug 15, Russia severed
diplomatic ties with US.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1921 Aug 15, The US Congress
passed the Packer and Stockyards Act. The Act's purpose was to
"regulate interstate and foreign commerce in live stock, live-stock
produce, dairy products, poultry, poultry products, and eggs, and
for other purposes."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packers_and_Stockyards_Act)
1922 Aug 15, Lukas Foss,
[Fuchs], composer (Prairie), was born in Berlin, Germany.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1923 Aug 15, Simon Peres
[Persky], premier of Israel, was born in Belarus.
(www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=30248)
1923 Aug 15, Eamon de Valera
was arrested in Irish Free State.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1924 Aug 15, Robert Oxton Bolt,
English screenwriter and playwright, was born. He is best known for
"A Man for all Seasons."
(HN, 8/15/00)(MC, 8/15/02)
1931 Aug 15, Roy Wilkins joined
NAACP as asst. secretary.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1933 Aug 15, Drug Inc., and
Int'l. shoe were removed from the DJIA. Corn Products Refining and
United Aircraft were added.
(WSJ, 5/28/96, p. R-45)(WSJ, 4/8/04, p.C4)
1935 Aug 15, Humorist Will
Rogers (55), American comedian and "cowboy philosopher," and
aviation pioneer Wiley Post (36) were killed when their airplane
crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska. Rogers once said: "Even if you're
on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
(AP, 8/15/97)(HN, 8/15/98)(MC, 8/15/02)
1938 Aug 15, Maxine Waters,
congresswoman from California, second African-American woman to be
elected to congress, was born.
(HN, 8/15/98)
1939 Aug 15, The MGM musical
"The Wizard of Oz" premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theater in
Hollywood.
(AP, 8/15/97)
1940 Aug 15, In the
largest–scale raids in the history of aerial warfare, hundreds of
Germany planes struck against London and its suburbs. Hitler’s
planned Operation Sea Lion was to have commenced on this day.
However it was cancelled on Aug 17 following heavy German air raid
losses. In 2008 Michael Korda authored “With Wings Like Eagles: A
History of the Battle of Britain.”
(WSJ, 1/9/09, p.W10)
1941 Aug 15, Lithuanian Jews in
Kaunas were herded into the Slobodka ghetto.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1942 Aug 15, The Japanese
submarine I-25 departed Japan with a floatplane in its hold. It was
assembled upon arriving off the West Coast of the US, and used to
bomb U.S. forests.
(HN, 8/15/99)
1943 Aug 15, Allies landed on
Kiska in the Aleutians.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1944 Aug 15, Linda Ellerbee,
newscaster (Weekend, NBC Overnight), was born in Bryan, Texas.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1944 Aug 15, The American 7th
Army, British and French forces landed on the southern coast of
France, between Toulon and Cannes, in Operation Dragoon. The
amphibious landing was met with minimal resistance.
(PCh, 1992, p.888)(AP, 8/15/97)(HN, 8/15/98)(SFC,
9/11/00, p.A22)
1945 Aug 15, Gasoline and fuel
oil rationing ended in the United States.
(HN, 8/15/98)
1945 Aug 15, A riot ensued in
SF while the city was celebrating the end of WW II. The riot left 11
dead and some 1,000 people injured.
(SFC, 8/15/05, p.B1)
1945 Aug 15, Emperor Hirohito
announced to his subjects in a pre-recorded radio address that Japan
had accepted terms of surrender for ending World War II. This day
was proclaimed "V-J Day" by the Allies, a day after Japan agreed to
surrender unconditionally. At 7 p.m. reporters gathered in the Oval
Office to hear President Harry S. Truman announce the unconditional
surrender of Japan.
(HNPD, 8/13/98)(AP, 8/15/07)
1945 Aug 15, Korea was
liberated after nearly 40 years of Japanese colonial rule, but
it soon faced the tragic division of the North and South along the
38th parallel.
(www.koreanconsulate.on.ca/en/?mnu=a06b03)(SFC,
6/17/00, p.A9)
1947 Aug 15, India gained
independence after some 200 years of British rule. Britain
partitioned the subcontinent. Prior to independence, 565 princes
ruled a third of India. After independence the government let the
royals retain their titles and assets in return for incorporating
their principalities into the new nation. The 664 princely states of
India were given the choice of which country they wanted to join.
Although most of the people of Kashmir were Muslim, the maharaja was
Hindu and he appealed to India for help. Independence in Pakistan
and India led to bloody conflicts and thousands died. In 1999 Fareed
Zakaria published "Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India."
In 2006 David Gilmour authored “The Ruling Caste,” an account of
Britain’s Indian Civil Service (ICS).
(WSJ, 1/9/95, A-8)(WSJ, 12/21/95, p.A-12)(WSJ,
5/16/96, p.A-10)(SFEC, 8/3/97, p.A15)(AP, 8/15/97)(SFC, 6/4/98,
p.C2)(WSJ, 1/29/99, p.W7)(WSJ, 2/23/06, p.D8)
1948 Aug 15, The Republic of
Korea (South Korea) declared independence.
(AP, 8/15/97)(Econ, 9/27/08, SR p.16)
1950 Aug 15, Two U.S. divisions
were badly mauled by the North Korean Army at the Battle of the
Bowling Alley in South Korea, which raged on for five more days.
(HN, 8/15/98)
1950 Aug 15, A magnitude 8.6
earthquake in Assam, Tibet, killed at least 780 people.
(AP, 2/27/10)
1951 Aug 15, Artur Schnabel
(b.1882), Austrian born US pianist (Reflections on Music), died in
Switzerland.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1953 Aug 15, In Iran a CIA
plot, masterminded by Kermit Roosevelt, to unseat PM Mossadeq
failed. A 2nd attempt succeeded on August 19.
(Econ, 5/15/10, p.92)
1954 Aug 15, Alfredo Stroessner
(b.1912) named himself president of Paraguay. This ended a 27-year
chaotic period in which 22 presidents came and went.
(SFC, 8/17/06, p.A10)
1957 Aug 15, The musical "West
Side Story," composed by Leonard Bernstein and based on a concept by
Jerome Robbins, first opened in Washington D.C. The story was by
Arthur Laurents (1917-2011) and the lyrics were by Stephen Sondheim.
(SFEM, 5/23/99, p.18)(SSFC, 5/8/11, p.D9)
1960 Aug 15, Congo (formerly
Congo/Brazzaville) declared Independence from France.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1961 Aug 15, East German
workers began building the Berlin Wall. [see Aug 12]
(AP, 8/15/01)
1962 Aug 15, Shady Grove
Baptist Church was burned in Leesburg, Georgia.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1962 Aug 15, US Pvt. James
Joseph Dresnok (21) defected to North Korea. His wife had recently
divorced him and he faced a court-martial. A British film crew met
with Dresnok in 2004. A documentary about his defection, "Crossing
the Line," was released in 2006 and made it to DVD in 2008.
(SFC, 8/16/04, p.A5)(AFP,
1/29/07)(http://tinyurl.com/m59l5v)
1962 Aug 15, Lei Feng (b.1940),
a Chinese revolutionary soldier, died after being hit by a falling
telephone pole.
(WSJ, 4/12/08,
p.R6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Feng)
1964 Aug 15, A race riot took
place in Dixmoor, a suburb of Chicago, Ill.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1965 Aug 15, Beatles played to
55,000 at Shea Stadium.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1968 Aug 15, Pirate Radio Free
London began transmitting.
(http://radio.eric.tripod.com/in_breach_of_the_law.htm)
1969 Aug 15, The Woodstock
Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York. 400,000 young people
gathered at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in the Bethel hamlet of White
Lake, N.Y. for the Woodstock music festival. Wavy Gravy (Hugh
Romney) and companions from the Hog Farm Commune ran a free kitchen
and "bad trips tent." The performers included Joan Baez; Crosby,
Stills and Nash; Creedence Clearwater; the Grateful Dead; Jimi
Hendrix; the Jefferson Airplane; Janis Joplin; Canned Heat and Ravi
Shankar.
(TMC, 1994,
p.1969)(SFC,5/17/96,p.E-1)(WSJ,10/22/96,p.A20)(SFEC,1/26/97,
p.A14)(AP, 8/15/97)(SFC,10/27/97, p.C2)
1970 Aug 15, A ferryboat named
the M.V. Golden Gate made its maiden voyage from San Francisco to
Sausalito marking a revival of ferry service on San Francisco Bay.
It was retired from service on March 26, 2004. The Golden Gate Bus
and Ferry Transit system began operating with one ferry and 4 leased
busses. Ferry service to Sausalito was inaugurated. The ferryboat
Golden Gate was retired in 2004.
(www.goldengateferry.org/researchlibrary/history.php)(SFC, 12/2/99,
p.A36)(SFC, 3/26/04, p.A1)
1971 Aug 15, Pres. Nixon
suspended conversion of dollars to gold and imposed a 90-day price,
wage and rents freeze and 10% import charge. He also cut various
taxes and expenditures. This became known as the “Nixon Shock” and
marked the end of the gold standard and fixed exchange rates. The
Bretton Woods agreement, that defined the post World War II economic
environment, collapsed under the weight of US deficit spending. In
the wake of this exchange rates were allowed to float under the
watchful eye of central bankers.
(WSJ, 5/28/96, p. R-44)(WSJ, 8/15/96, p.A12)(AP,
8/15/97)(WSJ, 10/1/98, p.A16)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)(Econ, 3/27/10,
p.86)
1971 Aug 15, Bahrain proclaimed
independence after 110 years of British rule. December 16, 1971, is
the date of independence from British protection.
(http://ixpats.com/bahrain.html)
1972 Aug 15, In Argentina 22
members of guerrilla groups escaped from prison in the city of
Rawson and took over the airport in nearby Trelew, about 800 miles
south of Buenos Aires. Military forces guarding the airport managed
to arrest 19, while three escaped by plane to Chile. 19 guerrillas
were transferred to the base Almirante Zar. On August 22 they were
machine-gunned in their cells. Alberto Camps, Mary Berger and
Ricardo Haidar survived the attack and reported the crime, only to
disappear in the late 1970s during the military dictatorship that
lasted from 1976 to 1983. In 2008 federal police arrested two
retired military officers in connection with the massacre of the 16
leftist guerrillas. In 1973 journalist Tomas Eloy Martínez
authored “The Passion According to Trelew.” It was banned by the
Argentine dictatorship.
(AP, 2/10/08)(
www.bither-terry.org/latinamerica/?cat=20)
1972 Aug 15, The Italian town
of Grazie di Curtatone began its Int’l. Street Painting Festival.
This revived a 16th century practice by itinerant artists who
traveled from village to village for religious and folk festivals.
(WSJ, 5/16/06, p.D6)
1974 Aug 15, South Korean
President Park Chung-hee escaped an assassination attempt in which
his wife was killed. Park’s daughter took over as 1st lady.
(AP, 8/15/97)(Econ, 5/21/05, p.44)
1975 Aug 15, Bangladesh
army officers killed Sheik Mujibar Rahman, the country's founding
leader and father of Hasina Wajed. A total of 20 people, including
domestic staff, were killed when the group of officers stormed his
house. General Ziaur Rahman, father of Khaleda Zia, became the
military ruler. Rahman had introduced a one-party socialist system
and assumed almost dictatorial powers. In 1997 the government
charged two people with his assassination. In 1998 15 men were found
guilty and sentenced to death. Three were acquitted in 2001. Of the
remaining 12, five appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court, six
are in hiding and one is believed to have died in Zimbabwe. In 2010
the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for five killers.
(SFC, 6/12/96, p.A9)(SFC, 6/14/96, p. A14)(SFC,
4/7/97, p.A10)(AFP, 1/27/10)
1976 Aug 15, Former SS Colonel
Herbert Kappler dramatically escaped from prison hospital in Rome
with the aid of his wife and taken to Germany.
(http://tinyurl.com/yvulbh)
1977 Aug 15, Police in Cape
Girardeau, Missouri, found Mary Parsh (58) and her daughter, Brenda
(27), lying nude side by side on a bed at home, their hands tied
behind their backs. Each had been shot in the head. In 2007 Timothy
Krajcir (63), a graduate from Southern Illinois with a degree in law
enforcement, confessed to their rape and murder and at least 4 more.
He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the 1982 killing of a
Southern Illinois University Carbondale student, Deborah Sheppard.
and, in addition, was charged with five counts of murder and three
counts of rape against women in the Cape Girardeau, Missouri, area
from 1977 to 1982. In 2008, Krajcir pleaded guilty and was sentenced
to another 40 years in prison for the 1978 killing of Marion
resident Virginia Lee Witte.
(AP,
12/12/07)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Krajcir)
1980 Aug 15, George Manuel
Bosque (25) reportedly abandoned his armored truck at the SF Airport
Hilton Hotel, stole a car at gunpoint, and vanished with over $1.8
million in cash. 2 days later he sent an envelope with $20,000 to SF
Police officer Lou Vance to pay off a business deal. Bosque was
caught on November 23, 1981 and pleaded not guilty before a Federal
Judge on November 24, 1981.
(SFC, 8/12/05, p.F3)(http://tinyurl.com/ebwtd)
1985 Aug 15, The Assam Accord
was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Assamese nationalists. A
Congress government led by Hiteshwar Saikia, widely viewed in Assam
as illegitimate, was dissolved as part of the terms of the Assam
Accord. Under the accord the government promised to identify and
deport people who had crossed the border since the creation of
Bangladesh in 1971, but the promise went unfulfilled.
(http://tinyurl.com/ypjjgw)(Econ, 10/11/08, p.60)
1985 Aug 15, Iraq launched its
first air raid on Iran’s Kharg oil-island.
(www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/iraqchron.html)
1987 Aug 15, Thousands of
people marched past the grave of Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tenn., as
they began an all-night vigil marking the 10th anniversary of his
death.
(AP, 8/15/97)
1988 Aug 15, President Reagan
bade a sentimental farewell on the first night of the Republican
national convention in New Orleans, and praised the man destined to
succeed him, Vice President George Bush.
(AP, 8/15/98)
1989 Aug 15, F.W. de Klerk was
sworn in as acting president of South Africa, one day after P.W.
Botha resigned as the result of a power struggle within the National
Party.
(AP, 8/15/99)
1990 Aug 15, In an attempt to
gain support against the US-led coalition in the Persian Gulf, Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein offered to make peace with longtime enemy
Iran.
(AP, 8/15/00)
1991 Aug 15, Some 750,000
attended Paul Simon's free concert in Central Park. The event was
recorded and became available on video.
(http://tinyurl.com/rdhv8)
1991 Aug 15, The UN Security
Council, by a vote of 13-to-one, authorized Iraq to export
one-point-six billion dollars’ worth of oil in a tightly controlled
sale to pay for desperately needed food and medicine.
(AP, 8/15/01)
1992 Aug 15, While Republicans
gathered in Houston for their national convention, President Bush
spent the weekend at Camp David, his renomination secure.
(AP, 8/15/97)
1992 Aug 15, Giorgio Perlasca,
Italian anti-fascist (saved 5,200 Jews), died.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_)
1993 Aug 15, Pope John Paul II
ended his four-day U.S. visit with a farewell address at Denver's
Stapleton International Airport in which he denounced the "culture
of death" of abortion and euthanasia.
(AP, 8/15/98)
1993 Aug 15, An Egyptian
surrendered peacefully after hijacking a Dutch jet to Germany to
demand the U.S. release Muslim cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman.
(AP, 8/15/98)
1993 Aug 15, Robert W. Kempner
(93), German officer of justice in Prussia and special US prosecutor
of Nazis, died.
(http://library.law.columbia.edu/ttp/TTP_LOC.htm)
1994 Aug 15, Ilich Ramirez
Sanchez, the terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal," was jailed in
France after being captured in Sudan. By his own count he had killed
83 people before being captured. Bernard Violet is the author
of "Carlos - The Secret networks of Int’l. Terrorism."
(AP, 8/15/97)(SFC,12/11/97, p.C2,4)
1994 Aug 15, Shepherd Mead
(80), author, died of stroke In London, England. His 1951 novel “How
to Succeed at Business Without Really Trying” was made into a 1961
Broadway musical.
(www.inthe90s.com/generated/obit1994.shtml)
1995 Aug 15, The Justice
Department agreed to pay 3.1 million dollars to white separatist
Randy Weaver and his family to settle their claims over the killing
of Weaver’s wife and son during a 1992 siege by federal agents at
Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
(AP, 8/15/04)(AP, 8/15/00)
1995 Aug 15, The St. John
Baptist Church in Lexington Co., S.C., burned down. Arson was
suspected and investigations by the FBI and ATF were later begun.
(SFC, 6/11/96, p.A16)
1995 Aug 15, John Cameron
Swayze (89), pioneering TV journalist and Timex watch pitchman, died
in Sarasota, Fla.
(AP, 8/15/05)
1996 Aug 15, Bob Dole claimed
the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in
San Diego, offering himself as the "bridge to a time of tranquility"
and describing himself as "the most optimistic man in America." Jack
Kemp became the Republican Party vice-presidential nominee.
(WSJ, 8/15/96, p.A1)(AP, 8/15/97)
1996 Aug 15, A botulism
outbreak began killing birds at the Salton Sea in California. The
sea is 278 feet below sea level and is now 10% more salty than the
Pacific Ocean. Extensive pollution with sewage from Mexico and
pesticides from farms in the Coachella valley plagued the big lake.
(SFC, 9/1/96, p.D8)(SFC, 9/3/96, p.A18)
1996 Aug 15, Frederick
Davidson, a graduate student at San Diego State University, shot and
killed three engineering professors; he was later sentenced to three
life terms in prison.
(AP, 8/15/97)
1996 Aug 15, In Algeria armed
militants killed 17 passengers on a bus using a fake police
barricade on a remote highway.
(SFC, 8/19/96, p.A9)
1996 Aug 15, In Belgium two
kidnapped girls were rescued by police just days following the
arrest of Marc Doutroux. [see Aug 13]
(SFC, 8/19/96, p.A8)(SFC, 4/24/98, p.A14)
1996 Aug 15, In Nigeria 27 of
the 30 governors were sacked by Sani Abacha. The other 3 were
transferred to other states.
(WSJ, 8/16/96, p.A1)
1996 Aug 15, In South Korea
some 6,000 police clashed with 7,000 students who protested for
reunification with North Korea and the removal of 37,000 US troops.
(SFC, 8/16/96, p.A17)
1997 Aug 15, The US government
expanded its recall of ground beef sold under the Hudson brand name
to 1.1 million pounds because of new evidence of possible
contamination by E. coli bacteria.
(AP, 8/15/98)
1997 Aug 15, The Justice
Department decided not to prosecute senior FBI officials in
connection with an alleged cover-up that followed the deadly 1992
Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho.
(AP, 8/15/98)
1997 Aug 15, The Dow Jones
dropped 247 points in its 2nd biggest point loss session ending at
7,694.66.
(SFC, 8/16/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 15, In Louisiana a
self-defense law, passed in June, that permits motorists to use
deadly force in a car-jacking incident took effect.
(SFC, 8/14/97, p.A3)
1997 Aug 15, Beginning today
couples seeking marriage in Louisiana were given the choice between
a traditional or a covenant marriage. The covenant marriage,
designed to make divorce much more difficult, required counseling
and a 2-year cooling off period.
(SFC, 8/15/97, p.A6)(Econ, 2/12/05, p.31)
1997 Aug 15, Researchers from
the Univ. of New Hampshire reported that the spanking of children
causes long-term behavioral problems.
(SFC, 8/15/97, p.A3)
1997 Aug 15, Scientists at
Geron corp. reported that an "immortality gene" had been cloned. The
key gene carries the code for a key section of the enzyme
telomerase, that rebuilds the telomere of DNA. It could lead to new
cancer-prevention drugs and even be used to slow the process of
aging.
(SFC, 8/15/97, p.A1,17)(SFC, 8/16/97, p.D1)
1997 Aug 15, From Argentina it
was reported that the country would issue bonds to pay indemnities
to the relatives and descendants of the 1970s "dirty war." As many
as 30,000 people disappeared and about 8,000 families have applied
for payments authorized at $224,000 per victim.
(WSJ, 8/15/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 15, In Bosnia the high
court ruled that Pres. Biljana Plavsic had no right to disband the
Parliament. Plavsic announced the formation of a new political
party, the Serb National Union.
(SFC, 8/16/97, p.A10)
1997 Aug 15, In Columbia ten
woodcutters were killed by a gang of hooded gunmen near the town of
Retiro in Antioquia province.
(SFC, 8/16/97, p.C1)
1997 Aug 15, From Egypt it was
reported that a nurse in Alexandria, Aida Nur el-Din, had killed at
least 18 patients so that she would not be disturbed at night.
(SFC, 8/16/97, p.C1)
1997 cAug 15, In Mexico the
Saba family’s 22% stake in Television Azteca SA was sold through an
IPO. The family led by Isaac Saba Raffoul was reputed to have a cash
equivalent of a billion dollars with the sale.
(WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A10)
1998 Aug 15, Some 34,000 union
workers went on strike against US West.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A7)
1998 Aug 15, In Britain it was
reported that 6,000 mink from a fur farm in Ringworm had been
released by animal rights activists. The released mink caused a
wildlife disaster as they preyed on all wildlife.
(SFC, 8/15/98, p.A5)
1998 Aug 15, In Congo the US
Embassy shut its doors as rebels approached Kinshasa. Pres. Kabila
and his ministers retired to Lubumbashi.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A12)
1998 Aug 15, In Northern
Ireland a car bomb killed 29 people in Omagh and wounded 220. A
splinter group called the Real IRA took responsibility. It was
affiliated with the political organization called the 32-County
Sovereignty Committee. Families of the dead filed civil suit in
2001. In 2002 Colm Murphy (50), a veteran anti-British militant, was
convicted of aiding the bombers and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In 2005 Murphy was released on bail pending a retrial. In 2003
Michael McKevitt, head of a dissident IRA faction, was sentenced to
20 years in prison for directing the group. In 2005 Sean Gerard Hoey
(35) was charged with murdering 29 people in the attack. Detectives
had used “low copy DNA profiling” to link Sean Hoey to the bombing.
In 2007 a judge acquitted Hoey, saying he was not satisfied beyond a
reasonable doubt of the evidence's integrity. In 2009 a Belfast
court found 4 dissidents liable for the bombing. Michael McKevitt,
leader of the Real IRA, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus
Daly were found liable in a civil case brought by the families of
those killed. A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was cleared of
involvement. In 2011 an appeals court ruled that the original trial
judge gave too much credence to evidence identifying two of the men,
Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, as members of the Real IRA. The judges
ordered a civil retrial for Murphy and reserved judgment on whether
to do the same for Daly.
(SFC, 8/17/98, p.A9)(SFC, 1/23/02, p.A6)(SFC,
1/26/02, p.A8)(SFC, 8/8/03, p.A3)(AP, 5/26/05)
(AP, 12/21/07)(AP, 6/8/09)(AP, 7/7/11)
1998 Aug 15, In Myanmar (Burma)
18 detainees, arrested for passing out literature and charged with
violating the 1950 Emergency Provision Act, were forced to leave the
country. A 5-year prison term was imposed if they break Burma’s laws
again.
(SFC, 8/15/98, p.A14)
1998 Aug 15, Some 750 Iranians
entered Iraq to visit shrines for the first time in 18 years.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A24)
1998 Aug 15, In Paraguay Raul
Cubas Grau took the presidential oath and promised to rejuvenate the
economy.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A24)
1998 Aug 15, In Oslo, Norway, a
4-day conference by religious leaders ended. The group pledged to
form an int’l. alliance to wipe out prejudice linked to religion and
belief.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A21)
1998 Aug 15, The Russian Soyuz
TM-28 ship docked in manual mode with the Mir space station. The new
crew was expected to stay to Feb.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A26)
1998 Aug 15, Serbian forces
seized the Kosovo rebel town of Junik
(SFC, 8/17/98, p.A8)
1998 Aug 15, In South Korea
police used water canons to disperse marching students in a banned
pro-unification rally with North Korean counterparts. The day marked
the 53rd year of liberation from 36 years of Japanese rule.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A26)
1999 Aug 15, Tiger Woods won
the PGA Championship, becoming the youngest player to win two majors
since Seve Ballesteros.
(AP, 8/15/00)
1999 Aug 15, President Clinton
and his family went house-hunting in Westchester County, New York.
They later settled on a house in Chappaqua.
(AP, 8/15/00)
1999 Aug 15, In Algeria an
armed group killed 29 people near Beni Ounif.
(SFC, 8/16/99, p.A10)
1999 Aug 15, In Congo fighting
in Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville) extended from the airport to
the city center between forces from Uganda and Rwanda. Rebel leader
Ernest Wamba dia Wamba was backed by Uganda, while Emile Ilunga was
backed by Rwanda.
(SFC, 8/16/99, p.A8)
2000 Aug 15, Democrats stirred
memories of President John F. Kennedy at their national convention
in Los Angeles, with his daughter, Caroline, taking a rare turn in
the spotlight and beckoning delegates to turn the New Frontier into
a "timeless call" that would send Al Gore to the White House.
(AP, 8/15/01)
2000 Aug 15, US warplanes
bombed air defense sites in northern Iraq.
(SFC, 8/16/00, p.A18)
2000 Aug 15, Edward Walker
(82), inventor of the lava lamp and promoter of nudism, died.
(SFEC, 8/20/00, p.B9)
2000 Aug 15, British Airways
joined Air France in grounding its Concorde supersonic jets in the
wake of the July 25th crash near Paris that claimed 113 lives.
(SFC, 8/16/00, p.A17)(AP, 8/15/01)
2000 Aug 15, In Colombia
authorities and US Secret Service agents captured 10 leaders of a
counterfeiting ring that had sent over $40 million in bogus bills to
the US over the last 2 years.
(SFC, 8/17/00, p.A15)
2000 Aug 15, In Colombia 6
students were killed after they were caught in a cross fire between
leftist rebels and government troops. The students were on a field
trip with teachers. An investigation followed and a military coverup
was suspected. 5 officers and 36 soldiers were suspended for the
deaths.
(SFC, 8/16/00, p.A18)(SFC, 8/17/00, p.A15)(WSJ,
8/17/00, p.A1)(SFC, 8/19/00, p.A10)
2000 Aug 15, In Israel 4
prostitutes died in Tel Aviv when a brothel was set on fire. Police
suspected a serial arsonist.
(SFC, 8/16/00, p.A18)
2000 Aug 15, One hundred people
from North Korea and 100 people from South Korea held temporary
reunions with family members not seen in 50 years.
(SFC, 8/15/00, p.A13)(AP, 8/15/01)
2000 Aug 15, South Korea
released 3,586 prisoners in an amnesty.
(WSJ, 8/16/00, p.A1)
2001 Aug 15, The Air Force gave
the go-ahead to build its new F-22 fighter, but said it would build
fewer planes for more money than it had once planned.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2001 Aug 15, Robert R.
Courtney, a wealthy Kansas City, Mo., pharmacist accused of diluting
chemotherapy drugs surrendered to the FBI. He was later sentenced to
30 years in prison.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2001 Aug 15, A Texas appeals
court halted the execution of Napoleon Beazley just hours before he
was scheduled to die for a murder he had committed as a teenager. He
was executed in May 2002.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2001 Aug 15, Astronomers
announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2001 Aug 15, It was reported
that scientists had found data that suggested that "there is a time
evolution of the laws of physics."
(SFC, 8/15/01, p.A2)
2001 Aug 15, Israeli undercover
troops in Hebron killed Emad Abu Sneiheh (25), an activist in the
Tanzim militia.
(SFC, 8/16/01, p.A9)
2001 Aug 15, NATO authorized
400 first wave peacekeepers for Macedonia.
(SFC, 8/16/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 15, Four Zimbabwean
Daily News journalists were arrested after publishing a report that
police were helping loot white-owned farms.
(WSJ, 8/16/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 8/19/01, p.A11)
2002 Aug 15, President Bush,
using Mount Rushmore as a dramatic backdrop, pressed Congress to
give him a flexible, fast-moving homeland security department.
(AP, 8/15/03)
2002 Aug 15, Some 600 families
of 9/11 victims files a $3 trillion lawsuit against Saudi princes,
foreign banks, charities and the government of Sudan for funding the
terrorist networks that launched the 2001 attacks.
(SFC, 8/16/02, p.A1)(AP, 8/15/03)
2002 Aug 15, In NYC WNEW-FM
radio shock jocks Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia aired an eyewitness
account of a couple having sex in the vestibule of St. Patrick's
Cathedral. Their show was cancelled Aug 23.
(SFC, 8/24/02, p.D4)
2002 Aug 15, In Virginia the
bodies of Michael and Mary Short were found shot to death south of
Roanoke. Bones of their daughter Jennifer (9) were found Sep 25 in
Stoneville, NC, some 30 miles away.
(SFC, 8/17/02, p.A3)(SFC, 10/5/02, p.A5)
2002 Aug 15, Larry Rivers (78),
painter, sculptor, jazz musician and poet, died in Southampton, NY.
Rivers was born as Yitzroch Grossberg in Bronx, NY.
(SFC, 8/16/02, p.A25)(NW, 8/26/02, p.9)
2002 Aug 15, In Afghanistan
Ghulam Sakhi Bashi, deputy head of Gen. Dostum's 70th division, was
shot and killed during his son's wedding ceremony in Charbolak,
about 30 kilometers to the west of Mazar-I-Sharif.
(Reuters, 8/18/02)
2002 Aug 15, An Indonesian
court acquitted a former East Timor police chief and five other
security officers of crimes against humanity over East Timor's
bloody independence vote in 1999.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2002 Aug 15, Israeli soldiers
strapped a bulletproof vest on a Palestinian teenager and ordered
him to approach a house where a Hamas militant was hiding, with
instructions to bring out everyone inside. As Nidal Daraghmeh (19)
neared the house in the West Bank village of Tubas he was shot in
the back of the head and killed, though it's not clear who pulled
the trigger.
Israeli soldiers shot and killed a
5-year-old boy in Khan Younis in the central Gaza Strip near an
Israeli settlement. His grandfather and another Palestinian man were
critically wounded.
Israeli soldiers shot and killed two armed
Palestinians who were approaching the fence around Gaza, apparently
planning to attack soldiers or infiltrate into Israel, the military
said. The two were carrying a large bomb, the military said.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2002 Aug 15, Heavy rains caused
the San Luis Potosi and Los Dolores dams to burst, sending a wave of
floodwaters roaring over villages in central Mexico, where
authorities said at least eight people were killed and six others
were missing and feared dead.
(AP, 8/16/02)
2002 Aug 15, A train in
Tlaxcala, Mexico, struck and killed six young people (13-25) as they
were walking along railroad tracks during a religious procession.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2002 Aug 15, Peru's first lady,
Eliane Karp, resigned from a $10,000-a-month consulting job with a
Peruvian bank after the revelation of the contract raised suspicions
of influence peddling.
(AP, 8/16/02)
2002 Aug 15, Uganda has agreed
to withdraw its troops from neighboring Congo, where they were sent
four years ago to support Congolese rebels and root out Ugandan
insurgents.
(AP, 8/16/02)
2002 Aug 15, The U.N. Security
Council voted unanimously to strengthen the U.N. presence in Angola
to help consolidate peace in the southwest African nation after 27
years of civil war.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2003 Aug 15, Bouncing back from
the largest blackout in U.S. history, cities from the Midwest to
Manhattan restored power to millions of people — only to confront a
second series of woes created in the aftermath of the enormous
outage.
(AP, 8/15/04)
2003 Aug 15, West Virginia
officials suspected that a single sniper had killed 3 people in
recent days near Charleston.
(SFC, 8/16/03, p.A4)
2003 Aug 15, A remote mine,
allegedly triggered by Chechen rebels, killed five Russian soldiers
while troops were conducting a search operation in the breakaway
republic. Chechen rebels also fired automatic weapons and lobbed
grenades at a military commander's office, killing two soldiers and
wounding 10.
(AP, 8/15/03)(AP, 8/16/03)
2003 Aug 15, Saboteurs blew up
a major pipeline and stopped all oil flow from Iraq to Turkey, just
three days after the pipeline between the two countries was
reopened. A following fire raged into the next day. The 600-mile
pipeline runs from the northern city of Kirkuk to the Turkish city
of Ceyhan.
(AP, 8/16/03)
2003 Aug 15, Tens of thousands
Liberian civilians, desperate for food, broke through barricades on
Monrovia's front-line bridges, reuniting the capital after 10 weeks
of rebel siege.
(AP, 8/15/03)
2003 Aug 15, The ruling prince
of Liechtenstein, who garnered controversy in Europe with his push
for more power in the tiny state, announced he would step down and
hand over the reins to his son in one year.
(AP, 8/15/03)
2003 Aug 15, Mexican troops
arrested one of the country's most-wanted drug-traffic suspects,
Armando Valencia, along with seven top figures in his ring in
Tlajomulco near Guadalajara.
(AP, 8/16/03)
2003 Aug 15, A landslide swept
through an army base in northern Nepal killing at least 15 soldiers,
and search teams scoured the debris for more bodies.
(AP, 8/16/03)
2003 Aug 15, Nicanor Duarte was
inaugurated as Paraguay's 47th president. Presidents from Colombia
and other countries in the region gave Duarte his first official
business as they signed the "Declaration of Asuncion" pledging a
political alliance in the war on drugs.
(AP, 8/16/03)
2003 Aug 15, Philippine army
forces in a speedboat killed 4 suspected members of Abu Sayyaf, an
extremist Muslim group, in a clash at sea after getting a tip from
fishermen.
(AP, 8/17/03)
2003 Aug 15, Saudi police
arrested at least 11 suspected militants and seized a large weapons
cache in southern Jazan province that included rockets and explosive
chemicals.
(AP, 8/16/03)
2003 Aug 15, The World Bank
said it is lending Vietnam $100 million over the next 3 years to
support reforms, reduce poverty, develop a market economy and help
devise a modern legal system.
(AP, 8/15/03)
2004 Aug 15, In NY Spencer
Tunick, photographer, gathered 1,826 people at Buffalo’s old Central
Terminal for a group session of nude photographs.
(SFC, 8/17/04, p.E5)
2004 Aug 15, Vijay Singh won
the PGA Championship in Haven, Wis.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2004 Aug 15, Residents left
homeless by Hurricane Charley dug through their ravaged homes,
rescuing what they could as President Bush promised rapid delivery
of disaster aid.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2004 Aug 15, Sporadic gunfire
and shelling took place overnight in the disputed Georgian region of
South Ossetia in violation of a fragile ceasefire, wounding seven
Georgian servicemen.
(AFP, 8/15/04)
2004 Aug 15, IOC officials,
worried by the television images being flashed around the world of
athletes competing in near empty stadiums, told the Athens Games
organizers to give tickets away for free if necessary.
(AP, 8/16/04)
2004 Aug 15, In Athens, the US
men's basketball team lost 92-73 to Puerto Rico, only the third
Olympic defeat ever for the Americans and first since adding pros.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2004 Aug 15, In northeast India
a bomb exploded during an Independence Day parade in Dhemaji,
killing 18 people, including schoolchildren.
(AP, 8/15/04)(Econ, 8/21/04, p.34)
2004 Aug 15, Hundreds of
delegates from across Iraq gathered in Baghdad at a three-day
national conference intended to bring a taste of democratic debate.
(AP, 8/15/04)
2004 Aug 15, US armored
vehicles and tanks rolled back into the streets of Najaf and troops
battled Shiite militants in a resumption of fighting after the
collapse of negotiations. 2 US soldiers were killed in Najaf when
troops came under attack by militiamen loyal to firebrand Shiite
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
(AP, 8/15/04)(AP, 8/16/04)
2004 Aug 15, In Liechtenstein
Prince Hans-Adam II formally handed over day-to-day governing powers
to his son Crown Prince Alois, and then invited all 33,000 of
Liechtenstein's people to a garden party.
(AP, 8/15/04)
2004 Aug 15, In Sweden Dr. Sune
Karl Bergstrom (88), 1982 Nobel laureate, died.
(SFC, 8/19/04, p.B7)
2004 Aug 15, In Venezuela the
opposition's long and bitter campaign to oust Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez finally came down to a recall referendum. Chavez
survived a referendum to oust him.
(AP, 8/16/04)
2005 Aug 15, US prosecutors
said 4 former Wall Street brokers have been indicted for a scheme
allowing day traders to eavesdrop on internal communications and
profit by trading ahead of large share orders and subsequent price
movements.
(Reuters, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 15, Reliant Energy
agreed to pay $135.4 million in cash to California and to forgo
$299.5 million it claims it is owed to settle allegations of energy
manipulation during the energy crises 5 years earlier.
(SFC, 8/16/05, p.D1)
2005 Aug 15, Delta Air Lines
said it is selling its feeder carrier, Atlantic Southeast Airlines,
to SkyWest for $425 million.
(SFC, 8/16/05, p.D3)
2005 Aug 15, Hershey announced
the acquisition of Joseph Schmidt, a SF chocolate maker.
(SFC, 8/16/05, p.D1)
2005 Aug 15, James Dougherty
(84), the retired Los Angeles detective who was the first husband of
Marilyn Monroe, died in San Rafael, Calif.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2005 Aug 15, Bulgaria's three
largest parties formed a coalition under a Socialist prime minister,
resolving seven weeks of stalemate threatening to hold up the Balkan
state's aspirations for EU entry in 2007.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 15, Canada’s CBC
locked out 5,300 of its 9,000 employees following 15 months of
unsuccessful talks with the Canadian Media Guild, a merger of 3
unions.
(Econ, 10/1/05, p.37)
2005 Aug 15, A powerful car
bomb exploded outside a restaurant in Chechnya's capital, killing
two people, including a child, and wounding at least 11 others.
(AP, 8/16/05)
2005 Aug 15, In northeast
Colombia suspected rebels killed two Catholic priests, ambushing
their car with gunfire and explosives as they drove down a country
road.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 15, In Egypt’s the
Sinai Peninsula a crude roadside bomb blasted a vehicle belonging to
international peacekeepers, lightly wounding two Canadians.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 15, Near-simultaneous
attacks and riots at 7 Guatemalan prisons left 31 inmates dead. They
showed the organizational power of Central America's gangs, whose
members communicate between prisons through cell phones and
visitors.
(AP, 8/16/05)
2005 Aug 15, Indonesia and Aceh
rebels signed a peace treaty in Helsinki to end nearly 30 years of
fighting that killed 15,000 people, but rebel leaders voiced concern
about government troops remaining in the region.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 15, Iraq’s parliament
failed to meet a key deadline for finishing a new constitution and
voted to give itself another week on a new draft constitution.
(Econ, 8/20/05, p.37)(AP, 8/15/06)
2005 Aug 15, Israel began to
pull out from the Gaza Strip after 38 years of occupation. Asher
Weisgen (Weisgan), an Israeli settler, murdered four Palestinians
under his employ and wounded a fifth near Shilo in an effort to
prevent Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. On Sep 27, 2006,
Weisgan was sentenced to 4 consecutive life terms plus 12 years and
ordered to pay $53,000 to the families of those killed and $23,000
to Rauhi Kassab, who survived.
(AP,
8/15/05)(http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/135780/index.php)
2005 Aug 15, Italy’s Interior
Minister said Italy has arrested 141 people in a security swoop
following the bombings in London and Egypt last month and remains at
high risk from an attack by Islamic militants. Expulsion procedures
had begun against 701 people.
(Reuters, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 15, New Kyrgyz
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appointed Felix Kulov, a former
opposition politician who was jailed under the country's ousted
Soviet-era leader, as acting prime minister.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 15, Singapore hosted
maritime exercises aimed at stopping shipments of weapons of mass
destruction. The drills are part of the U.S.-led Proliferation
Security Initiative (PSI). Other participants in the Deep Saber
exercises included Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany,
Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Russia and
the US.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2006 Aug 15, US federal agents
arrested 138 alleged drug traffickers in 15 cities. They seized over
47 pounds of Mexican black tar heroin and confiscated over $500,000
in illegal profits.
(SFC, 8/16/06, p.A3)
2006 Aug 15, US officials
arrested Edgar Alvarez Cruz on immigration violations in Denver. He
was suspected of participating in the rapes and killings of at least
10 women in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, where more than 100
young women have been killed since 1993.
(AP, 8/17/06)
2006 Aug 15, Seven northeastern
US states said they had agreed on a model rule that would create the
country's first market for heat-trapping carbon dioxide by curbing
emissions at power plants.
(Reuters, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, Afghan and US
troops killed an al-Qaida suspect and detained 13 others in
southeastern Afghanistan.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, The official death
toll in China from Typhoon Saomai jumped to 295 as fishing families
grieving the loss of loved ones said authorities were no help and
had covered up the number of fatalities.
(AFP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, In Colombia the
last major paramilitary leader to enter into a peace deal with the
government handed in his weapon, even as the future of that fragile
accord was called into doubt by other ex-militia leaders. Freddy
Rendon Herrera and 745 fighters from the Elmer Cardenas bloc handed
in 447 rifles in a disarmament ceremony in Unguia, a village 370
miles northwest of Bogota.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, French Interior
Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said nearly 30,000 illegal immigrants with
school-age children applied for French residency under a special
government offer, and about 6,000 will get it.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, The UN Security
Council voted unanimously to extend the UN peacekeeping mission in
Haiti for six months and urged its troops and police to help fight
gang violence and kidnapping.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, A suicide bomber
killed nine people at the party headquarters of the Iraqi president.
In Basra tribal leader Faisal Raji al-Asadi, an anti-American Shiite
cleric, was killed. Gunbattles between his supporters and Iraqi
forces left at least six people dead. In Karbala street battles
between security forces and followers of anti-American cleric
Mahmoud al-Hassani, left 12 dead, including two Iraqi soldiers. A
suicide car bomber killed nine people in an attack on the Mosul
headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a Kurdish party
headed by President Jalal Talabani.
(AP, 8/15/06)(AP, 8/16/06)(SFC, 8/17/06, p.A14)
2006 Aug 15, Israel began
slowly withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon and made plans
to hand over its captured territory as hopes were raised that a
UN-imposed cease-fire would stick, despite early tests on its first
day.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, Japan’s PM
Junichiro Koizumi made a pilgrimage to a Tokyo war shrine reviled by
critics as a symbol of militarism, triggering a further erosion in
Japan's ties with its neighbors just a month before he leaves
office.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, Maori Queen Te
Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu (75), aka Te Ata, died in New
Zealand.
(SFC, 8/16/06, p.B7)(AP, 8/15/07)
2006 Aug 15, Two Norwegian and
two Ukrainian oil workers being held hostage in Nigeria were freed
as the government promised to crack down on a surge in unrest in
Africa's largest oil producer.
(Reuters, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 15, Pakistani forces
arrested 29 suspected Taliban militants in a raid on a private
hospital after they came from neighboring Afghanistan.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2007 Aug 15, Ex-NBA referee Tim
Donaghy pleaded guilty to felony charges in an NBA betting scheme.
He faced up to 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. A federal
judge later sentenced Donaghy to 15 months behind bars.
(WSJ, 8/16/07, p.A1)(AP, 8/15/08)
2007 Aug 15, Pennsylvania
Superior Court Judge Michael Thomas Joyce, an appeals court judge,
was indicted on charges of scamming $440,000 from insurers by
claiming he suffered debilitating injuries in a car crash, even
while he golfed, skated and went scuba diving.
(AP, 8/16/07)
2007 Aug 15, Max Roach
(b.1924), jazz drummer, died in Manhattan.
(SFC, 8/16/07, p.B11)
2007 Aug 15, In Afghanistan US
led ground troops and airstrikes targeted "hundreds of foreign
fighters" dug into positions in the Tora Bora region of eastern
Nangarhar province. 2 German police officers and a German foreign
ministry employee were killed in Kabul, in a bomb attack claimed by
the Taliban.
(AP, 8/15/07)
2007 Aug 15, In Germany 6
Italian men were fatally shot in the head in the western city of
Duisburg, an execution-style killing that Italy's interior minister
said appeared to be a feud between two Italian organized crime
clans. On March 12, 2009, Dutch police arrested Giovanni Strangio
(30), an Italian man wanted for the killings in Duisburg.
(AP, 8/15/07)(AP, 3/13/09)
2007 Aug 15, State radio
reported that Iran has detained two Chinese nationals on charges of
spying on its military and nuclear facilities. A drug crackdown was
launched throughout Iran and police seized more than 54 kilos (118
pounds) of heroin and crack from the gang in airports in Tehran and
several other cities. In the operation 90 members of a drug network,
including 85 Africans from Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana as well as
two Pakistanis, were arrested.
(AP, 8/15/07)(AFP, 8/18/07)
2007 Aug 15, In Mosul a bomb in
a parked car killed a civilian and wounded ten others. 5 people were
killed in an ambush on a minibus carrying civilians near Khalis.
South of Baghdad a suicide car bomber killed two people and wounded
seven. US troops killed 11 suspected terrorists and detained four
others in operations against al-Qaida in central and northern Iraq.
Two US soldiers were killed and six wounded in fighting north of
Baghdad.
(AP, 8/15/07)(AP, 8/16/07)
2007 Aug 15, Japan's foreign
minister launched plans for a joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial
park in the West Bank that he said would promote peace in the region
through prosperity.
(AP, 8/15/07)
2007 Aug 15, In Kenya hundreds
of journalists wearing black gags marched silently through Nairobi
to protest a proposed law that would allow courts to compel
reporters to reveal their sources.
(AP, 8/15/07)
2007 Aug 15, Maputo's interior
ministry said South Africa has intensified the repatriation of
Mozambican illegal immigrants, going from 400 to a weekly average of
more than 600.
(AFP, 8/15/07)
2007 Aug 15, A magnitude-8.0
trembler rocked Peru's coast, toppling buildings leaving some 610
people dead and 36,000 homes damaged. State doctors called off a
national strike to handle the emergency. Two prisons collapsed and
600 prisoners escaped. About a third gave themselves up over the
next week. Tremors destroyed 80% of Pisco, where 148 people died
when the city cathedral collapsed.
(AP, 8/16/07)(Econ, 8/25/07, p.35)(SSFC, 4/6/08,
p.A14)(Econ, 8/16/08, p.37)
2007 Aug 15, Sergei Sinkonen
and another conscript came upon the officers celebrating a wedding
not far from their unit at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in
northwestern Russia. The officers thought the conscripts had fled
and beat them with army belts, and put Sinkonen in a kennel with
guard dogs, where he was found the next morning in serious
condition. Sinkonen died Aug 27.
(AP, 8/29/07)
2007 Aug 15, Official media
said severe floods have destroyed more than a tenth of North Korea's
farmland at the height of the growing season.
(AP, 8/15/07)
2007 Aug 15, Hordes of shoppers
desperate to buy sugar amid severe shortages stampeded at a shopping
complex in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, killing a
15-year-old boy and a security guard.
(AP, 8/16/07)
2008 Aug 15, Cookie retailer
Mrs. Fields Famous Brands LLC said it plans to file for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection to help restructure its business.
(Reuters, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, In Texas store
clerk Mindy Daffern (46) was abducted in the north Texas town of
Scotland. Wallace Bowman Jr. (30) was identified by a security
camera and led investigators to her body the next day.
(SFC, 8/18/08,
p.A3)(www.wafb.com/global/story.asp?s=8854535)
2008 Aug 15, Leroy Sievers
(b.1955), broadcast journalist, died of cancer. He was a former
executive producer of ABC’s “Nightline” and commented on his disease
on National Public Radio (NPR).
(SFC, 8/19/08, p.B5)
2008 Aug 15, Jerry Wexler
(b.1917), record producer, died. From 1953-1975 he worked for
NYC-based Atlantic Records and helped build the firm into a rhythm
and blues powerhouse. As a reported for Billboard magazine he coined
the term “rhythm and blues.”
(WSJ, 8/16/08, p.A7)
2008 Aug 15, Afghan security
forces withdrew from Nawa district in eastern Ghazni province after
days of fighting with Taliban, allowing the rebels to move in and
capture the area. In eastern Afghanistan a roadside bomb and small
arms fire killed 2 soldiers serving under the separate NATO-led
force. Taliban insurgents attacked police checkpoints in Nad Ali
district of southern Helmand province, sparking clashes that killed
23 militants.
(AFP, 8/15/08)(SFC, 8/16/08, p.A6)(AP, 8/17/08)
2008 Aug 15, In Canada
employees at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlet won an arbitrator-imposed
contract, becoming the giant retailer's only location in North
America with a collective agreement in place.
(AP, 8/17/08)
2008 Aug 15, In Chad a court
sentenced former President Hissene Habre and 11 rebels to death.
Habre was awaiting trial in Senegal for torture and murder.
(SFC, 8/16/08, p.A5)
2008 Aug 15, In Beijing 2
positive dope tests by Asian athletes overshadowed Singapore's first
medal in 48 years and a podium for Malaysia with a North Korean
shooter and a Vietnamese gymnast exposed as cheats.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, Xinhua News said a
bus veered off the road and plunged into a ravine in central China,
killing 15 people.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, About 20 people,
including Italian tourists, were killed when two buses collided
head-on in the Dominican Republic.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, Iraqi security
forces began taking over checkpoints near the Iranian border
previously manned by Georgian troops before they redeployed home
following recent fighting with Russia. A roadside bomb struck a
minibus beginning the trip in eastern Baghdad morning, killing at
least one passenger and wounding 10 others. A passenger van packed
with explosives blew up at a bus station in Balad, north of Baghdad.
9 people were killed and 40 wounded.
(AP, 8/15/08)(AP, 8/16/08)
2008 Aug 15, Russian troops
allowed some humanitarian supplies into Georgia’s city of Gori but
kept up their blockade of the strategically located city, raising
doubts about Russia's intentions. Relief planes swooped into Tbilisi
with tons of supplies for the estimated 100,000 people uprooted by
the fighting. An international rights group said it has evidence
that Russian warplanes dropped cluster bombs in civilian areas in
Georgia.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, In India's part of
Kashmir tens of thousands of Muslims took to the streets again,
ignoring a plea by the country's prime minister for an end to weeks
of violence that has left 34 people dead.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, Officials said
Nepal's lawmakers have voted in Prachanda, the leader of the former
Maoist rebels, as the Himalayan country's new prime minister.
(AFP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, Twelve Nigerian
militants and a naval officer were killed in a gunbattle near a
Royal Dutch Shell natural gas plant in the oil-producing Niger
Delta.
(Reuters, 8/16/08)
2008 Aug 15, Coalition
government officials said Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is
ready to resign rather than face impeachment, but is seeking
immunity from prosecution and agreement on a safe place to live.
President Pervez Musharraf's spokesman rejected reports that the
embattled Pakistani leader was set to resign. Pakistan's interior
ministry chief said that over 460 Islamic militants and 22 soldiers
have been killed in more than a week of fighting in a tribal area
bordering Afghanistan.
(Reuters, 8/15/08)(AFP, 8/15/08)(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, Leftist ex-bishop
Fernando Lugo was inaugurated as Paraguay's president, ending six
decades of one-party rule in a key step in the poor South American
nation's democratic transformation.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, Peruvians flooded
the streets to protest the slow pace of reconstruction a year after
a magnitude-8.0 earthquake left tens of thousands homeless.
(AP, 8/16/08)
2008 Aug 15, In the Philippines
at least 15 hitchhikers were killed and 14 others injured when the
truck they were riding in plunged into a ravine outside Monkayo
township in the southern gold mining area on Diwalawal mountain.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, South African
authorities closed camps that have housed thousands of foreigners
displaced by xenophobic violence, in a move that has drawn concern
they could face more attacks when they return home.
(AFP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 15, International aid
groups said tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes in
northern Sri Lanka in recent weeks as the military ramped up its
offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels' heartland.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2009 Aug 15, In Georgia former
college professor Lothar Karl Schweder (77) and his wife Sherry (65)
were found mauled to death by dogs near their home in Lexington.
(SFC, 8/18/09, p.A7)
2009 Aug 15, In southern
California the body of Jasmine Fiore (28), a swimsuit model, was
found stuffed in a suitcase and dumped into a trash bin in Orange
County. Her husband Ryan Alexander Jenkins (32), a reality TV show
contestant and CEO of Skyhomes in Calgary, Canada, reported her
missing the same day. On Aug 20 Jenkins was charged with murder and
believed to be hiding in Canada. On Aug 23 Jenkins was found dead of
apparent suicide in a motel in Hope, British Columbia.
(SFC, 8/20/09, p.A5)(SFC, 8/20/09, p.A9)(Reuters,
8/24/09)
2009 Aug 15, In Afghanistan a
suicide car bomb exploded outside the main gate of NATO's
headquarters five days before presidential elections, killing seven
and wounding 91 in the biggest attack in the Afghan capital in six
months. A British soldier succumbed to injuries sustained while out
on foot patrol in Helmand province, becoming the 201st British
military fatality in Afghanistan.
(AP, 8/15/09)(AFP, 8/16/09)
2009 Aug 15, In northern
Algeria an explosion followed by gunfire left one police officer
dead and two others wounded at a beach. A head-on collision between
a lorry and a minibus killed 16 people on the outskirts of the city
of Ghazaouet, including more than a dozen members of the same family
traveling together.
(AFP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, Canada said it
will pay some farmers to stop raising hogs and offer loans to help
others restructure, assistance that drew praise from Canadian hog
farmers and concerns from a top US farmer group.
(Reuters, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, In southern Chile
Manuel Calfiu, head of the Mapuche community Meli Wixan Mapu, said
dozens of Indian communities agreed to form the Mapuche Territorial
Alliance to fight for political autonomy, said after several days of
violence over land seizures.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, Three Iraqi men
herding cattle were killed after wandering into the middle of a
US-Iraqi mortar training exercise north of the Iraqi capital.
(AP, 8/16/09)
2009 Aug 15, In Kuwait a fire
at a wedding tent killed 57 women and children as it consumed the
structure in a blazing inferno lasting just three minutes. The
bridegroom’s ex-wife was later found to be the arsonist. In 2010 a
Kuwaiti appeals court confirmed a death sentence against Nasra
Yussef Mohammed al-Enezi (23). She had been convicted in March of
setting fire to the wedding tent as her husband took a second wife.
(AP, 8/16/09)(AP, 8/18/09)(SFC, 8/18/09,
p.A4)(AFP, 5/26/10)
2009 Aug 15, Japan's PM Taro
Aso expressed deep regret over the suffering his country inflicted
on Asian countries during World War II in a solemn ceremony that
marked the 64th anniversary of Tokyo's surrender.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, In Mexico the
dismembered body of Jesus Arroyo, a legal adviser for the leftist
Democratic Revolution Party, was found in an ice box in Ciudad
Altamirano, in Guerrero state. In Guadalajara singer Carlos Vicente
Ocaranza, who specialized in drug ballads, was shot to death outside
a bar. His manager died of wounds 2 days later. Ocaranza was better
known as "El Loco Elizalde," or The Crazy Elizalde, a reference to
his distant relation by marriage to Valentin Elizalde, a much more
famous musician, also killed by gunshots in 2006.
(AP,
8/15/09)(www.wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1646540)
2009 Aug 15, In Myanmar US Sen.
Jim Webb won the release of John Yettaw (53), an American prisoner
convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison for swimming
secretly to the residence of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, Nigeria's
anti-graft agency said it had recovered more than 50 billion naira
($320.5 million / €224.2 million) in looted funds and secured 70
convictions in the past year. Police in the western Nigerian state
of Niger raided the Darul Islam community and detained hundreds of
its members, weeks after an uprising by a radical sect killed almost
800 in the remote northeast. Sect leader Amrul Bashir Abdullahi
said: "We decided to create a camp for ourselves outside the
community because of the problems in the larger society. These are
problems of corruption, drunkenness, prostitution and so on which
Allah forbids."
(AFP, 8/15/09)(Reuters, 8/16/09)
2009 Aug 15, In Pakistan a
suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a checkpoint in
the northwestern Swat Valley, killing at least five people in a
reminder that extremists can still strike despite the military's
retaking of the area. Air strikes by government fighter jets killed
16 militants and destroyed several Taliban hideouts in tribal South
Waziristan.
(AP, 8/15/09)(AFP, 8/17/09)
2009 Aug 15, In the Gaza Strip
Abdel-Latif Moussa, the leader of an al-Qaida-inspired group, blew
himself up during a shootout with Hamas security forces, ending
hours of violence sparked by a rebellious sermon at a mosque near
the Egyptian border. A total of 24 people, including six Hamas
police officers and an 11-year-old girl, were killed and 150 were
wounded.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, In Peru farmers
freed 13 police officers and four civilians seized at a
hydroelectric dam in the Andean region after local officials agreed
to provide them with fertilizer.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, In Puerto Rico
Ricardo Lebron Berrios (23), a prisoner being taken to jail to face
car theft charges, allegedly shot one police officer to death and
gravely wounded a second, then escaped in their squad car.
(AP, 8/16/09)
2009 Aug 15, Somali pirates
found seven dead colleagues floating in the ocean and vowed to take
revenge against Egyptian fishermen they say killed them during an
August 13 escape.
(Reuters, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, South Korea's
president renewed his offer of aid for impoverished North Korea if
it abandons its nuclear weapons and called for talks on the
reduction of conventional weapons along their heavily fortified
border.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, Sri Lanka's Roman
Catholic leaders called for the release of ethnic Tamils held in
military-run displacement camps, saying they are confined like
prisoners behind barbed wire.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, Taiwan's President
Ma Ying-jeou bowed to public anger, apologizing for his government's
slow response to Typhoon Morakot, which devastated central and
southern parts of the island.
(AFP, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 15, Yemen widened a
military offensive against Shiite rebels in the country's north,
blasting the fighters' positions with artillery and airstrikes.
(AP, 8/15/09)
2010 Aug 15, In San Francisco
the 2-day Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival drew close to 80,000
people to 4 concert stages in Golden Gate Park.
(SFC, 8/16/10, p.C1)
2010 Aug 15, James Kilpatrick
(b.1920), columnist and longtime conservative 60 Minutes “Point
Counterpoint” commentator, died in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 8/17/10, p.A6)
2010 Aug 15, In Afghanistan Abu
Baqir, a man described as a Taliban sub-commander and al Qaeda group
leader, was killed, along with another insurgent, when an alliance
aircraft fired on a truck in Kunduz province. Siddiqa (19) and her
fiance Khayyam (25) were stoned to death in public in northern
Kunduz over an alleged illicit love affair. They had tried to elope
against their families’ wishes. The stoning was captured on video.
(AP, 8/16/10)(SFC, 2/1/11, p.A2)
2010 Aug 15, In Bahrain four
leading Shiite activists were arrested as the kingdom's Sunni
leaders try to end violent confrontations between Shiite protesters
and anti-riot police. Shiites are a majority in Bahrain, but the
oil-rich nation is ruled by a Sunni royal family.
(AP, 8/15/10)
2010 Aug 15, India's PM
Manmohan Singh appealed to the people of Indian-controlled Kashmir
to end violent protests and said his government is ready to hold
talks to resolve their long-standing problems. An off-duty officer
flung a shoe at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Indian-controlled
Kashmir's top elected official, during India's independence day
ceremony.
(AP, 8/15/10)(AP, 8/16/10)
2010 Aug 15, In Iraq drive-by
shootings and a spate of bombings killed 11 people and wounded
dozens. Five of the dead were Iraqi police and security forces. 3
Sunni Muslims were gunned down as they left Abid Wais mosque in Jurf
al-Sakhr, 50 km (30 miles) south of the capital in the mainly Shiite
province of Babil. Three others, including an off-duty policeman,
were killed when their minibus was struck by a bomb attack as it
travelled to the centre of Baghdad from an eastern quarter. A
traffic policeman and a civilian were also killed, and a police
officer was wounded, when a roadside bomb exploded near Al-Shaab
stadium in the east of the capital. Another person was killed and
seven others wounded by three roadside bombs in northern Baghdad. In
Mosul, one Iraqi soldier was killed and another wounded in a
shooting at a security checkpoint in the east of the northern city.
(AP, 8/15/10)(AFP, 8/15/10)
2010 Aug 15, Israel's military
said Hezbollah is moving fighters and weapons into the villages of
south Lebanon, building up a secret network of arms warehouses,
bunkers and command posts in preparation for war.
(AP, 8/15/10)
2010 Aug 15, In Mexico
attackers shot 8 men to death and piled their bodies in a pickup
truck in the southern state of Oaxaca. Gunmen kidnapped Edelmiro
Cavazos, mayor of the town Santiago, a city on the outskirts of
Monterrey. His body was found on Aug 18. In Ciudad Juarez gunmen
opened fire on the pool party in central Ciudad Juarez, killing 3
women and a man and wounding 5 other women, all of whom were wearing
swimsuits. In an attack at a private house, gunmen riddled
party-goers with bullets. 3 victims died at the scene, and another 3
in hospital. The bodies of four other men, "showing signs of torture
with several shots through their heads," were found in other parts
of the city. The city had more than 2,660 murders in 2009 and 1,850
so far this year. In Veracruz police found the bound, burned remains
of a body with a federal police badge.
(AFP, 8/15/10)(AP, 8/16/10)(Reuters, 8/18/10)
2010 Aug 15, In Mali 2
survivors of a failed journey said 12 African nationals trying to
illegally enter Europe died from thirst and hunger in the Algerian
desert.
(AFP, 8/15/10)
2010 Aug 15, In Nigeria Royal
Dutch Shell PLC warned that thieves in the oil-rich and restive
southern delta are increasingly targeting the company's crude
pipelines, including at least three incidents of sabotage this month
alone.
(AP, 8/15/10)
2010 Aug 15, In Nigeria a fiery
road crash outside the commercial capital of Lagos burned at least
15 people to death and injured 18 others.
(AFP, 8/16/10)
2010 Aug 15, Pakistani men took
turns savagely beating the two teenage brothers with sticks, drawing
blood before dragging and hanging their dead bodies from a nearby
pole. None of the dozens of people watching tried to stop the
attack, not even several police. The scene was caught on video and
broadcast on news channels. The boys in Sialkot, a town in eastern
Punjab province, may have been mistaken for robbers. At least 10
suspects were later arrested, including four police officers.
(AP, 8/22/10)
2010 Aug 15, In Saudi Arabia
Ghazi Algosaibi (70), a consummate statesman and liberal writer,
died after a long illness. Algosaibi was close to the kingdom's
ruling family. But his writings, critical of Arab governments, were
banned in the kingdom. Only last month, Saudi Culture Ministry
lifted the ban on his writings citing his contributions to the
nation.
(AP, 8/15/10)
2010 Aug 15, South Korea’s
Pres. Lee Myung-bak proposed a 3-step plan to unify the Korean
peninsula and a new tax to help his country absorb the enormous cost
of integration.
(SFC, 8/16/10, p.A4)
2010 Aug 15, UN chief Ban
Ki-moon urged the world to quicken aid for up to 20 million people
hit by Pakistan's worst humanitarian crisis as he flew in to visit
areas ravaged by record floods.
(AFP, 8/15/10)
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