Friday, August 8, 1997
Today's events
Britain's Princess Diana visits Bosnia as a part
of her international anti-landmine campaign.
The Bosnian Serb parliament holds its 11th session to discuss law on refugees and displaced persons and the law on order and strikes.
The 80th plenary session of India's Congress party opens in Calcutta on the 55th anniversary of the party's "Quit India
resolution" that set in train India's independence from Britain
in 1947.
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong delivers his National Day address to the people of Singapore.
The annual 1997 report on HIV/AIDS in Australia is released in Sydney.
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On the horizon
On Saturday, August 9, the annual parade of the Apprentice
Boys in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, is scheduled to take
place. The parade celebrates the victory over Roman Catholics
who besieged the city after 13 apprentice boys shut the gates
on the advancing army of King James II.
On Sunday, August 10, hundreds of Rastas from around the
world are expected at the 3rd annual Rastafari Gathering in
Christiansted, St. Croix.
On Monday, August 11, Elvis Week is scheduled to begin in
Memphis, Tennessee.
On Tuesday, August 12, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is scheduled to visit Finland to meet President Martti Ahtisaari, Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen.
On Wednesday, August 13, the crayfish season opens in Sweden, annually the second Wednesday in August.
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On this day
In 1570, the Third Civil War in France ended with the peace of St. Germain-en-Laye, granting the Huguenots an amnesty and giving them La Rochelle and Cognac as places of refuge.
In 1786, the first ascent of Mont Blanc was completed by Dr.
Michel-Gabriel Paccard and his porter, Jacques Balmat.
In 1900, the first Davis Cup tennis competition, named after
Dwight Filley Davis, began at the Longwood Cricket Club in
Brookline, Massachusetts, and was won by the United States two days later.
In 1918, the Battle of Amiens began in World War I; Allied
forces advanced on a 10-mile front against 20 German divisions
and took 16,000 prisoners in two hours.
In 1919, a peace conference between Afghanistan and India
resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi.
In 1942, six Germans became the first
saboteurs to be executed in America during World War II; they were electrocuted in a
District of Colombia jail having landed on Long Island in June.
In 1963, Britain's "Great Train Robbery" took place when a
gang held up the Glasgow to London mail train and stole 2.6
million pounds.
In 1967, a declaration in Bangkok, Thailand, signed by foreign ministers
of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand led
to the formation of the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
In 1974, Richard Nixon announced on TV he was resigning for
his part in the Watergate scandal, effective midday on August 9; he was the first U.S. president to resign office.
In 1988, U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar
announced that a cease-fire in the eight-year-old Gulf war
between Iran and Iraq was to begin at 0300 GMT on August 20,
In 1990, Iraq announced that it had annexed Kuwait as its 19th province and President Bush sent U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia as part of a multi-national force to defend the kingdom.
In 1991, Islamic Jihad freed Briton John McCarthy after
holding him hostage in Lebanon since April 17 1986.
In 1994, the leaders of Jordan and Israel opened their
countries' first border crossing, cementing an end to 46 years of hostilities.
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Newslink
The Shuttle/Mir program may be on the rocks after the Russian space station's continuing run of unplanned and unwanted special events. But you couldn't tell from the tone of NASA's cheerful Shuttle-Mir Web site. Visit it for the space agency's take on its dealings with the Mir, and some pretty pictures.
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Holidays and more
Iraq celebrates Victory Day.
Tanzania celebrates Peasant's Day.
Beatrice, Princess of York, is 9.
Actor Keith Carradine is 47.
Musician The Edge, David Evans, is 36.
Actor Dustin Hoffman is 60.
Author Joan Adams Mondale is 67.
Actress Connie Stevens is 59.
Singer Mel Tillis is 65.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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