Friday, September 26, 1997
Today's events
The first meeting of the NATO-Russia permanent joint council, which was set up earlier this year, takes place in New York.
British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook meets Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud in New York to discuss the sentence imposed by Saudi Arabia on Lucille McLauchlan, one of the British nurses accused of the murder of 55-year-old Australian Yvonne Gilford.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of South African President Nelson Mandela, is expected to appear for questioning before the Truth Commission in Johannesburg.
Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash meets Greek Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides in Nicosia.
China holds a festival celebrating the 2,548th anniversary of Confucius' birth.
The official release and news conference of the controversial
remake of "Lolita" takes place in Rome.
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On the horizon
On Saturday, September 27, an island-wide protest against the government removal of the base limit of the education, science and cultural affairs budgets is scheduled in Taiwan.
On Sunday, September 28, the International Open Air Theater Festival '97 is scheduled to end in Kwachon, South Korea.
On Monday, September 29, Quebec's Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard is scheduled to visit Paris for
an annual bilateral meeting and is expected to meet with President Jacques Chirac.
On Tuesday, September 30, the opening of sixth annual Iberoamerican Theater festival takes place in Bogota, Colombia.
On Wednesday, October 1, Nigeria marks 37 years of independence, with military ruler General Sani Abacha expected to a make address the nation by television.
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On this day
In 1087, King William II, son of William the Conqueror, was crowned King of England.
In 1580, Francis Drake arrived in Plymouth after sailing
"The Golden Hind" on its journey round the world in 33 months. He was the first Briton to circumnavigate the globe and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in April, 1581.
In 1687, the Acropolis in Athens was attacked by the Venetian
army trying to eject the Turks. The Propylaea (entrance hall)
and Parthenon were badly damaged.
In 1815, the Holy Alliance, an organization of most of the
European sovereigns, was formed by Alexander I of Russia,
Francis I of Austria and Frederick William III of Prussia.
In 1907, New Zealand, which had been a colony of Great
Britain, became a dominion.
In 1918, the Battle of the Argonne, the final major battle of
World War I, began when a combined force of French and
Americans attacked along a 40-mile front.
In 1934, the British liner "Queen Mary" was launched from
Clydebank, Scotland. It went on to break the Atlantic crossing record four times.
In 1957, the first performance of "West Side Story" by
Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim took place in New York.
In 19 60, Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F.
Kennedy held the first nationally televised debate between U.S. presidential candidates.
In 1969, the Bolivian army, led by General Alfredo Ovando
Candia, overthrew President Siles Salinas.
In 1977, entrepreneur Freddie Laker began his "Skytrain"
service of cut-price flights to the U.S. from Gatwick Airport.
In 1980, in West Germany, 13 people were killed and more than
200 injured in a bomb explosion at the Munich beer festival.
In 1983, Australia II won the America's Cup, defeating the
U.S. yacht Liberty and ending America's 132-year hold on the
trophy.
In 1984, China and Britain reached an agreement under which
Hong Kong would revert to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
In 1989, Vietnam withdrew its troops from Cambodia, leaving
the government it installed to fight alone against Khmer Rouge guerrillas.
In 1990, the U.N. Security Council imposed an air embargo
against Iraq in an attempt to resolve the Gulf crisis by
increasing economic sanctions.
In 1994, President Clinton lifted most of U.S. sanctions
against Haiti.
In 1996, U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid returned to earth after
188 days in orbit on the Russian space station Mir, longer than any other American and a record for a woman.
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Newslink
The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off as scheduled Thursday night, headed for a weekend rendezvous
with the problem-plagued Russian space station Mir. On board the shuttle was astronaut David A. Wolf, who will spend the next four months as a Mir crew member. For more information on the NASA/Mir mission, click here.
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Holidays and more
It's National Youth Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Yemen celebrates National Day.
Singer Lynn Anderson is 50.
Actress Melissa Sue Anderson is 35.
Singer Bryan Ferry is 52.
Actor William Hurt is 49.
Singer Julie London is 71.
Singer and actress Olivia Newton-John is 49.
New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman is 51.
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Sources: Associated Press,
Chase's Calendar of Events 1997, J.P. Morgan
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