a day ago
Protestors storm parliament, and serial-offender Luis Suárez bites again, some of the historical moments on this day
President Thabo Mbeki sets the bar too high during his first SONA
1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn: General George Custer and the US Seventh Cavalry are wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.
1904 Cape Town is flooded again within the space of a few days as streets turn into raging torrents. A considerable amount of damage is recorded, but there are no records of fatalities.
1940 A conference of editors in Pretoria agrees to voluntary censorship on military matters and keep the public in the dark about World War II as much as possible.
1947 The Diary of a Young Girl (aka The Diary of Anne Frank) is published. The book is significant in that it speaks for the voiceless (especially children, whose stories have never been told), is a witness to atrocity, and a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit. Anne's words – such as 'In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart' – are a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit and a plea for tolerance, compassion, and peace.
1948 The Berlin Airlift begins, ferrying humanitarian supplies into the city. The South African Air Force is strongly involved.
1950 The Korean War begins. SA, as a founding member of the UN, sends an air force squadron. 33 South African pilots are killed.
1999 In his first State-Of-the-Nation-Address, President Thabo Mbeki promises to tackle crime; SA's murder rate is third highest in the world. This year (2025), it is slightly improved at 10th-highest. Lesotho is the fourth-worst.
2006 In Jeppestown, Joburg, four cops are ambushed and shot dead by a 23-strong gang of robbers. The Task Force goes in and kill eight of the gang. The rest surrender.
2014 Liverpool and Uruguay striker Luis Suárez is charged with biting at the Fifa World Cup. The serial-offender apologises and reforms.
2020 Liverpool clinches first EPL soccer title in 30 years with 7 games to spare.
2022 The 30 000-year-old intact remains of a baby woolly mammoth is found frozen in permafrost in gold-fields of Yukon, Canada.
2024 China's Chang'e 6 mission is the first to return samples from the far side of the moon.
2024 Protesters storm parliament in Nairobi, Kenya, and set it alight. Police open fire on them, killing five and wounding 31.
DAILY NEWS
