April 15th Major News Events

1986 Libya US Air Strikes

1986: The US launches air strikes on Libya in retaliation for Libyan backed terrorism including the bombing of La Belle discotheque in West Berlin 10 days earlier. USA planes bombed targets in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Benghazi region. Colonel Muamar Gaddafi residential compound took a direct hit that killed Hanna Gaddafi, the adopted baby daughter of the Libyan leader.

1989 England Hillsborough Stadium Disaster

1989: The FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, turned to tragedy. At least 200 people were injured and 96 crushed to death, many of them teenagers and children. The problems were caused by too many Liverpool fans being sent to standing pens in to the back of an already full stand at the Leppings Lane end of the ground. As more fans were allowed in, those already there were pushed forward and crushed against the high, wired-topped safety fences. In 2017, six people were charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, misconduct in public office, and perverting the course of justice for their actions related to the disaster. As of 2021, only one person, Graham Mackrell, has been convicted of crimes related to the disaster, for which he paid a fine.
Comment from Neil, a man who lived through the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster: "The Liverpool fans were not as you reported allowed in the ground they were forced into an overfilled section of leppings lane. Sadly, I, as one of many that got out of the death pen, now relive that day over and over it ruined my life. Now after all the years not a single Liverpool fan has been charged with an offence regarding the death or the 96 in the ground and have probably never heard about the 97th victims who died in a coma later, nor will you have reported or the terror and guilt of those of us that escaped that day."

1990 Soviet Union Lithuania Independence

1990: Lithuania continues it's goal of Independence but The Soviet Union president threatens to cut off supplies including Oil and Natural Gas unless they rescind request for independence and laws that would mean seizing Soviet buildings and facilities.

1992 USA Leona Helmsley

1992: Leona Helmsley, starts a four-year prison term in Lexington, Kentucky for failing to pay her taxes, she served a total of only 18 months in jail. Her famous quote "Only the little people pay taxes." turned the press and the public against her who never forgave her for the infamous saying.

2000 Zimbabwe Farmer Murdered

2000: Approximately 1,000 farms are now occupied by "war veterans" backed by President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party. And one white farmer "David Stevens" in Zimbabwe was taken from his farm and has been shot dead. In spite of pressure from the international community, President Robert Mugabe pressed on with his plan to remove Zimbabwe's farms from white ownership, and a further 10 white farmers were murdered. Many farmers have given up their farms and left the country but others stayed hoping to keep their farms but in September 2002 Zimbabwe's parliament adopted new legislation making it easier to evict them.

2008 World Food Prices Problem

2008: As food prices continue to increase due to multiple reasons including gas prices, poor harvests and the increased use of ethanol based fuel. The people who are the most affected are the poorest members of the world who spend the highest percentage of income on feeding themselves. The World Bank President Robert Zoellick has appealed to richer nations to increase the food aid to some of the countries worst effected after riots in Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt and other countries over surging food prices.

2008 United States Pope Benedict XVI Visit

2008: Pope Benedict XVI has received a Presidential greeting from George Bush and his wife on his first official visit to the United States. Mr. Bush was waiting on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base when the Pontiff's plane touched down. As part of his six-day visit, the Pope will be addressing the U.N. and leading prayers at Ground Zero. The Pope will be leaving on April 20th.

2010 Volcanic Ash Grounds European Flights

2010: All flights in and out of several European countries have been suspended as ash from the volcanic eruption in Iceland continues to move south. Up to four thousand flights are being canceled with airspace closed in Norway, Britain, Sweden, France, Finland and Denmark. The U.K.'s air traffic control service has said that no flights will be allowed to enter U.K. airspace until at least 0700 BST on April 16th. Eurocontrol has said that the problem will persist for at least forty-eight hours. The volcano is still spewing ash and the wind direction is expected to continue bringing clouds into European airspace for some time.

2010 United States Obama Announces Trip to Mars

2010: President Barack Obama has said that it is likely that astronauts will be sent to orbit Mars by the mid-2030's. The President made the claim in a major speech to staff and guests at the Kennedy Space Center, where he outlined the details of his new policies on space exploration. Obama said that he has given NASA some challenging goals, and the funding to achieve them. This will include an extra $6 billion over the next five years.

2011 Replica of Graceland Opens in Denmark

2011: A replica of the Graceland Estate owned by Elvis Presley was opened in Randers, Denmark. The building is twice the size of the original in order to fit a museum, restaurant, and shop, and, despite the size difference, it is nearly identical. The building was created by Elvis fan Henrick Knudsen who had the blessing of Elvis's widow Priscilla.

2012 Kim Jong-un Makes First Major Public Speech

2012: The new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made his first major public speech during a celebration of the centenary of the country's founder's birth. The young leader praised the military first doctrine of the country and offered respects to Kim Il-sung (his grandfather and founder of North Korea) and the recently deceased Kim Jong-il.

2013 Philippines Rare Anteaters Found on Chinese Ship

2013: Authorities found over four-hundred boxes dead Pangolins, a rare type of anteater, on a Chinese fishing boat after it crashed in the Tubbataha reef. The twelve fishermen were taken into custody until officials could determine whether or not they had been poaching the protected animals.

2013 United States Boston Marathon Bombings

2013: Two pressure cooker bombs were set off at the Boston Marathon near the finish line, killing three people and injuring another two hundred and sixty-four people. The suspected bombers were named as Dzhokar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Police eventually chased down the suspects during a confrontation in which Tamerlan was run over by Dzhokar while trying to escape. Dzhokar was found hiding in a residential area on April 19th and police took him into custody after a stand off.

2014 Nigeria Schoolgirls Abducted by Boko Haram

2014: An estimate of over two hundred girls were taken from their school after an attack by the Boko Haram Islamist militant group in Chibok, Nigeria. The girls were thought to be taken to a hard to access remote area of forest in the country or out of the country. Over fifty of the girls had been able to escape. The Nigeria government tried to hold talks with the group to release the children but they were largely unsuccessful and experts say it could take years to find and free the girls.