Monday, April 28, 1997
Today's events
Turkey's President Suleyman Demirel is scheduled to visit
Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The United Nations Committee on Torture is scheduled to begin
its semi-annual meeting in Geneva where it will examine
alleged abuses by seven states including Israel.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein celebrates his 60th
birthday.
The Presidential Summit for America's Future is scheduled to
begin in Philadelphia. Speakers include U.S. President Bill
Clinton, Colin Powell, former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy
Carter and George Bush, former first lady Nancy Reagan and
talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
A court hearing is scheduled in Santa Monica, California, on
a motion for a new trial in the O.J. Simpson civil suit.
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On the horizon
On Tuesday, April 29, the official campaign period begins for
Indonesian general elections.
On Wednesday, April 30, French Foreign Minister Herve de
Charette visits Washington.
On Thursday, May 1, British general elections are held, as
well as English local elections.
On Friday, May 2, the National Rifle Association opens its
annual convention in Seattle.
On Saturday, May 3, Ireland is scheduled to host its 1997
Eurovision Song Contest.
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On this day
In 1503, the French were defeated by the Spanish under
Gonsalvo de Cordoba at the battle of Cerignola near Naples.
In 1770, Captain James Cook landed at Botany
Bay in Australia.
In 1788, Maryland became the seventh state of the Union.
In 1789, on a return journey from Tahiti, crew members of the
Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian, staged a mutiny against
Captain William Bligh who was cast adrift. He managed to
reach Timor near Java on June 14 after sailing over 3,500
miles.
In 1944, exercise "Tiger" ended with 750 U.S. soldiers dead
in a D-Day rehearsal after their convoy ships were attacked
by German torpedo boats off Slapton Sands, on the southwest
coast of England.
In 1945, Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator, was executed by
partisans near Lake Como one day after his capture.
In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower was relieved, at his own
request, of the post of Supreme Allied Commander Europe and
replaced by General Matthew Ridgway.
In 1969, President De Gaulle of France resigned after the
voters rejected major government reforms in a referendum.
In 1977, Andreas Baader and other members of the
Baader-Meinhoff group were jailed for life after a trial
lasting nearly two years in Stuttgart, Germany.
In 1980, U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance resigned over
the failed commando mission to rescue American hostages in
Iran.
In 1989, Roy Medvedev, Soviet historian persecuted for
exposing Josef Stalin's crimes in his study "Let History
Judge," was re-admitted to the Communist Party after 20
years.
In 1989, Argentina, hit by hyper-inflation, ran out of money
leaving thousands stranded without cash.
In 1989, Iran protested against the exhibition and sale of
the novel "The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie at the
Geneva international book fair.
In 1992, the Afghan government formally ceded power to
triumphant Islamic guerrillas in Kabul three days after
mujahideen forces entered the capital, ending 14 years of
armed resistance and civil war.
In 1992, the body of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich
Romanov, heir to the vacant Russian throne, was returned to
St. Petersburg to be buried in the city of his Tsar
ancestors. He died in Miami on April 21.
In 1992, Italian President Francesco Cossiga formally
resigned from office, plunging the country into its worst
constitutional crisis since the end of World War Two.
Giovanni Spadolini became interim-president.
In 1994, Aldrich Ames, former CIA officer, and his wife,
Rosario, leaded guilty to spying for Moscow in one of the
most
damaging espionage cases in U.S. history. He was sentenced to
life in prison.
In 1996, Martin Bryant shot dead 35 people when he ran amok
in the tourist area of Port Arthur in Tasmania.
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Newslink
President Clinton threw down his crutches this weekend in an
effort to promote broader volunteerism in America. More than
just a photo opportunity, the event was a kick-off to the
President's Summit for America's Future. To learn more, click
here.
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Holidays and more
Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, Moldova,
Romania, Ukraine and Yugoslavia celebrate Easter Monday
today.
Today is Sham El Nessim in Egypt.
It's Passover today in Israel.
Today is Carnival in the Netherlands Antilles.
It's the Independence Anniversary Day in Sierra Leone.
Today is Freedom Day in South Africa.
Actress Ann-Margret is 56.
Former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III is 67.
Actor Bruno Kirby is 48.
Talk show host Jay Leno is 47.
Actress Madge Sinclair is 59.
Actress Marcia Strassman is 49.
Actor Chris Young is 26.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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