January 15th Major News Events

1970 Biafra Surrenders

1970: After three long years of fighting, the Biafra government surrenders to Nigeria. Originally, Biafra had gained independence of Nigeria. This had happened about ten years before this time.

Nigeria tried to use diplomatic measures to unite Biafra with itself-to no avail. Then, in 1967, war broke out between these two regions. Due to economic hardship, Biafra had gave in to the wishes of Nigeria.

1970 Libya Qaddafi

On this day, Muammar al-Qaddafi became Premier of Libya. He was the man who had deposed (removed from office) King Idris in 1969. Qaddafi's political philosophies were a mixture of Orthodox Islam beliefs, revolutionary socialism, and Arab nationalism.

1973 Bonanza

Bonanza, a television program that aired for 14 seasons finally aired for the last time on this day. Bonanza first aired in 1959, and was the first western to be seen in color. Lorne Green, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts, and Dan Blocker were some of the main stars of this show.

1973 Vietnam Bombing Ends

Following progress in Paris peace negotiations between National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho of North Vietnam, President Richard Nixon halts the most concentrated bombing of the war against North Vietnam.

1974 U.S.A. Energy Policy

1974 : Frank Church, Senator of Idaho, had requested the de-classification of sensitive documents written in the 1950's. The basis for this request was his belief that the government had made secret decisions which would affect the nation's energy policy for 20 years.

Frank Church requested highly secured documentation for a specific reason. He said in his own way that it would help understand the most important post-war decisions that were made.

1981 Hill Street Blues

The television cop drama Hill Street Blues had aired on this day. This show was set in an unnamed city, although the outsides of the set were filmed in Chicago.

This television series has been described as the first real attempt to portray police officers as fallible human beings. Unlike other cop dramas, the crimes were rarely solved in one Hill Street Blues episode .

1984 Tony Benn

The leftwing Labour rebel Tony Benn is making a comeback in British Politics after loosing his seat in the last general election ( Bristol South ) by being elected by the local labour party at Chesterfield to fight in the coming by-election. ( he went on to win and represent Chsterfield until he retired in 2001 )

2008 Cloned Animal Meat OK

After six years of study, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that meat and milk from cloned pigs, cattle and goats and their offspring is safe and does not need to be labelled as derived from cloned animals.

2010 Haiti Earthquake

Three days after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, strikes Haiti leaving an estimated 45,000-50,000 people dead aid is still slow in coming. Aid groups say they need food, water, medical supplies and lifting equipment. Search and rescue teams have arrived and are going through the rubble trying to locate survivors, but the biggest problem is the lack of food, shelter and medical aid and supplies.

2010 The Chinese police have banned China’s Gay Pageant

The Chinese police have prevented the country's first gay pageant from taking place. It was stopped a few minutes before it was due to start. "This event has been canceled," said one of its judges, before explaining that "I believe it had something to do with the issue of homosexuality." The competition was due to take place in a Beijing restaurant and night club. The winner of the underwear segment was to vie for the right to represent China at the Worldwide Mr. Gay pageant. Police have said that the event didn't have the correct licence. This was the first gay pageant to be held in the country, and was hoped to signal a new openness toward its gay community. The police informed its organizers that it had not applied "according to the procedures". Homosexuality was illegal in China until 1997, and officials have described it as a mental illness.

2011 Tunisian Leader Flees After Increasingly Violent Protests

2011 :  The Tunisian president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country after being in power for twenty-three years. He and his family went to Saudi Arabia after being forced out of the country by protestors who had been demonstrating against the government for weeks.   

2013 Horse Meat Found in Burgers

Horse DNA was found in beef burgers being sold in supermarkets in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Health officials stated there was no risk to public health and that the contaminated batches were being recalled from retailers.

2014 Villagers Build Wall of Money

2014 : Chinese villagers in the town of Jianshe built a wall of money after receiving a large payout for their co-operative. The town was given their annual bonuses of around two million dollars my military officials. The villagers stacked the money in a wall that had to be guarded before it could be distributed the next day.