September 20th Major News Events

20 Sept, 1933 The Pittsburgh Steelers

1933 : The Pittsburgh Steelers make their first appearance in the National Football League. In their first game, they played the New York Giants and lost with a score of 23-2.

20 Sept, 1942 UK Water Restrictions

1942 : As part of British war effort to conserve fuel every household is asked to bathe in no more than 5 inches of water, the royal family is leading the way with black lines painted on all baths in the royal household at a depth of 5 inches with posters all over the palace reminding all of the need to conserve energy.

20 Sept, 1946 First Cannes Film Festival

1946 : The first annual Cannes Film Festival opens at the resort city of Cannes on the French Riviera.

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20 Sept, 1967 Egypt Israeli Tanks Sink Egyptian Patrol Boats

1967 : Israeli Tank gunners sank three Egyptian patrol boats carrying armed soldiers travelling down the blocked Suez Canal heightening tension in the area.

20 Sept, 1967 Scotland QE 2 Launched

September 20th, 1967 : Queen Elizabeth launches the new Cunard cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2, at a ceremony on the Clydebank with the words "I name this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second. May God bless her and all who sail in her."

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RMS_Queen_Elizabeth_2_Trondheim.jpg

20 Sept, 1973 Tennis Match Deemed Battle of the Sexes

1973 : The much publicized battle of the sexes in Tennis for $100,000 between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome ends with Billie Jean King beating Bobby Riggs in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 watched by a worldwide television audience of 50 million.

20 Sept, 1978 Iran Earthquake

September 20th, 1978 : The death toll in the area hit by an earthquake which hit Tabas and the surrounding villages on Saturday has now reached 16,000 and Iranian aircraft are spraying areas effected with disinfectant in a hope to keep diseases from spreading. The smell of death still pervades through the smell of disinfectant as there are still large numbers of dead who have not been buried. Iran has asked the world for help and medical supplies and staff as many wounded men and women are still untreated due to the small hospital in the area.

20 Sept, 1985 South Africa Stevie Wonder

1985 : The South African government has returned Stevie Wonder to the air waves after banning his music from being played on radio stations for dedicating his Oscar to the imprisoned anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Following scores of protests at home and abroad they have relented and allowed his music to be heard on Radio Stations.

20 Sept, 1999 East Timor UN Force Arrives

1999 : A multinational United nations peacekeeping force has landed in East Timor in an attempt to restore law and order to the area.

20 Sept, 2002 Palestine Israel Imprisons Yasser Arafat

2002 : Following the suicide attack earlier in the week in Tel Aviv, the Israeli army have surrounded the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah with tanks. The Israelis are demanding Palestinians wanted by the Israelis in connection with terrorist attacks surrender.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Rabin_at_peace_talks.jpg

20 Sept, 2004 Far Right Political Party Makes Major Gains

2004 : German far-right parties including The National Democratic Party (NPD), often compared to Hitler's Nazi party where political rallies often include skinheads and neo-Nazi paraphernalia win 9% of the vote in Saxony. Politicians in Germany and around the world are watching the current voting trends closely with some concern.

20 Sept, 2006 Australopithecus Afarensis Found

September 20th, 2006 : Fossilized bones of a female juvenile Australopithecus afarensis found in Ethiopia were finally fully uncovered. The bones date back to about 3.3 million years ago and are thought to belong to an Australopithecus afarensis that was about 3 years old at her death. The discovery will provide many clues into the evolution of humans and pre-historic species of hominids.

20 Sept, 2007 Burma Monks Come Onto The Streets

2007 : Monks have organized and joined street protests in Burma over the way the country is run including abrupt fuel price rises, high childhood malnutrition rates, and the beating of occasional monk who joined the earlier protests by the authorities, and arrests of any protesters who have taken to the streets by the authorities. With the monks now taking a more active role the military government will be scrutinized by media and governments around the world.

20 Sept, 2009 Bangladesh Lifeguards

September 20th, 2009 : Bangladesh trains its first ever lifeguards with the help of Australians. Bangladesh is considered one of the wettest countries on earth and drowning is a leading cause of child deaths.

20 Sept, 2011 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Military Gay Ban Ends

2011 : The US Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that banned open homosexuality was officially ended on this day. The measure had been put in place in the early 1990s during the Clinton administration to replace an outright ban on gay members of the military, instead letting gay members serve as long as their sexuality was not openly recognized or investigated. President Obama had insisted on ending the policy despite opposition from the Republicans in Congress.

20 Sept, 2012 Sudan Gold Refinery Opened in Khartoum

2012 : Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir officially opened the country's first gold refinery. The plant is said to be one of Africa's largest and is located in Khartoum.

20 Sept, 2013 Swaziland Holds Elections

2013 : Despite political parties being banned and the King of Swaziland holding absolute power, elections for the parliament took place. The candidates were picked by traditional chiefs. Banned opposition parties, mainly based in South Africa, called for the boycott of the elections.