April 14th Major News Events

1964 Cyprus Fighting Continues

1964: Problems continued in Cyprus as Greek and Turkish Cypriots continue fighting and more were killed today.

1968 Germany Student Unrest

1968: Student unrest continues in Berlin during a massive student rally which ends in violent clashes between police and protesters. The protests are at the shooting last week of one of their leaders, Rudi Dutschke.

1972 Canada Free Trade Talks

1972: President Nixon addresses Canadian Parliament seeking free trade talks to continue between the two countries.

1979 Uganda New President

1979: A new president Yusufu Lule has been sworn in after Uganda dictator Idi Amin is forced to leave the country during a Tanzanian army backed military coup.

1984 US Aid to El Salvador

1984: President Reagan Said he will continue aid to El Salvador despite critics as it was an important step in stopping the influence of Soviet Union in South America.

1988 Afghanistan Soviet Union Leaves

1988: The Soviet Union agrees to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan ending nine years of occupation by the Soviet Union.

1999 Yugoslav Albanian Refugees

1999: NATO mistakenly bombed a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees on a stretch of road between Dakovica and Decani in western Kosovo, killing 73 civilians. NATO and U.S. spokespersons initially claimed the target was a military convoy but later admitted mistakenly firing on what they believed to be military trucks, and expressed deep regret.

2000 UK M25 Road Rage Killer

2000: M25 road rage killer Kenneth Noye, is beginning a life sentence after being convicted of murder at the Old Bailey in London.

2003 Iraq Abul Abbas Captured

2003: U.S. commandos in Baghdad capture the wanted terrorist Abul Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985.

2007 Garry Kasparov is arrested in Moscow

2007: The Russian opposition activist, Garry Kasparov, was among the 170 people that were arrested as police prevented a banned anti-Kremlin rally in Moscow from escalating. The former chess player was freed several hours later, and was fined $40 for public order offences. The security operation was launched to stop protesters from gathering at Pushkin Square. President Putin denies that he is trampling on democracy, and accuses the opposition of destabilizing the state.

2008 Merger for Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines

2008: Air carriers Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have agreed to merge in a $5 billion deal that will make them world's biggest commercial passenger line. The new airline will be called Delta, and have an annual revenue of over $35 billion. It is predicted to have about 75,000 staff. Analysts say this deal might prompt other U.S. airlines to join together as they struggle with rising oil prices. The deal, which has been sealed a year after both carriers left bankruptcy protection, might have to struggle with the unions on this. The merger will see Northwest shareholders receiving 1.25 Delta shares for each of their Northwest shares.

2009 Cuba Fidel Castro

2009: The United States lifts Cuba Restrictions allowing unlimited family travel and financial transfers to Cuba. The former Cuban President Fidel Castro has described the U.S. rules that allow unlimited family travel and financial transfers to the island as "positive, although minimal." He has welcomed these changes in a column that was posted on a Cuban web site. The changes will allow Cuban-Americans to travel more freely into Cuba, and allow them to send more money to relatives that live there. The restrictions were lifted on Monday, April 13th.

2010 Boston Sarah Palin Tea Party Rally

2010: Sarah Palin has condemned the Obama Administration policies at a rally for the Tea Party Express on Boston Common. Some in the crowd were enthusiastic in their disapproval of the President, and others were skeptical of Palin. Palin's message was to lower taxes, lessen spending and smaller government. "Americans now spend one hundred days out of the year working for government before we even start earning money for ourselves," she said. This was the penultimate rally for the Tea Party Express, which began in Searchlight, Nevada and will end in Washington. The crowd appeared to be a few thousand, but the Boston Police have no crowd estimates. Many of the rally's participants held American flags and Don't Tread on Me banners. The crowd cheered at Palin's anti-Obama rhetoric. Palin parodied Obama's campaign slogans with "When they say yes we can, we'll say oh no you don't." and concluded with "We'll keep clinging to our Constitution, and our guns and religion, but you can keep the change."

2010 Neil Armstrong Critical of Space Planning

2010: Neil Armstrong has criticized the Obama administration's stripped-down space plans, describing the President's proposals as devastating. Supporters of the President's latest plan, which will be unveiled on the 15th, have insisted that the accelerated rocket program will set new goals for the American effort in outer space. Armstrong, in an open letter that was co-signed by the Apollo Commanders James Lovell and Eugene Cernan, wrote that "The … decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating.

2010 China Yushu Earthquake

2010: Six quakes in the Yushu region of China leave more than 500 dead and over ten thousand people were injured. Over the coming days as rescuers travel to outlying area's the death toll continues to rise to an estimated 1,500.

2011 Colombia Bus Engulfed by Mudslide

2011: A mudslide engulfed a bus in Colombia, killing at least fourteen people. Six people were also missing after the bus was swept away by a mudslide and covered completely by mud in the heavy rains. Emergency workers tried to recover bodies from the wreck.

2012 President of Turkmenistan Orders Ice Hockey Teams Created

2012: President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan declared that his government ministries must each create their own ice hockey teams. The leader of the desert nation has prodded his nation to become a sporting power since he came to power in 2007. The leader has absolute power over the country but has tried to encourage foreign investment since coming to power.

2013 Venezuela Post-Chavez Presidential Election

2013: Venezuelans voted in the first presidential election held since the death of former leader Hugo Chavez. Voters chose between Nicolas Maduro, who had been chosen by Chavez as his successor, and Henrique Capriles, who had run against Chavez in the previous elections. Maduro won the election.

2014 Netherlands Glow In the Dark Road Introduced

2014: The Netherlands introduced glow in the dark road markings on a small stretch of highway in the country to test the concept. The markings are made with a glow in the dark paint that charges during the day and glows at night. It was done as an effort to replace streetlights and save energy in the country.