July 8th Major News Events

1960 Soviet Union Francis Gary Powers Charged

1960 : The US Pilot of a U-2 Spy Plane Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage in a Soviet Union court. In August he was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison but two years later he was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

1965 England Ronald Biggs Escapes

1965 : Ronald Biggs one of the Great Train Robbers serving a 30 year jail sentence for the the robbery in 1963 escapes from Wandsworth prison. Ronnie Biggs went to Brazil where authorities could not extradite him, but came back to Britain in 2001 and was immediately taken to a top-security prison to serve the remaining 28 years of his sentence.

1966 Teamsters Union James R Hoffa

1966 : The Teamsters Union elects James R Hoffa for a further 5 years as president of the union despite the possibility that he will be in jail before the end of his term of office.

1971 Northern Ireland Rioting

1971 : The rioting is continuing in Londonderry with the latest rioting increasing following the use of nail bombs by rioters causing the British army to use live ammunition and firing on rioters and killing two.

1987 U.S.A. Oliver North

1987 : Oliver North has broken 10 months of silence concerning the Iran-Contra affair when he testified before the house senate committee investigating the Iran Arms Sale, that all his orders came from senior members of the white house staff including orders to shred documents and to prepare false statements.

1987 Sikh terrorist attacks

1987 : Following Sikh terrorist attacks on Hindu bus passengers which left 72 dead, the Indian army has banned public meetings hoping to stop the backlash by Hindu's on Sikh's in the city of Chandigarh.

1996 England School Machete Attack

1996 : A man wielding a machete attacks 3 very young children (3 and 4 yrs old) and 4 parents and staff at a kindergarten in Wolverhampton.

1997 Europe Flooding

1997 : Following torrential rains causing rivers including the Rhine and Oder to overflow with 40% of the population from Poland and the Czech Republic experiencing flood conditions due to many of the levees failing causing mass flooding to villages and towns in Europe.

1999 U.S.A. Dollar Continues To Climb

1999 : Following the increase in US interest rates the dollar hits new highs of:

$1.56 to the Pound

$1.0149 to the Euro

Oil is trading at close to $25.00 a barrel

US consumer price Inflation Rate index (CPI) 2.1%

US Interest Rates 5.25%

2006 Luis Echeverria Cleared of Genocide Charges

2006 : The ex-president of Mexico, Luis Echeverria was cleared of charges of genocide. A judge ruled that the case had reached beyond the statute of limitations in Mexico and Echeverria was released from house arrest. The charges come from an incident in 1968 in which some 300 students were killed as troops fired on them during a protest at Tlatelolco Square in Mexico City. Echeverria was the interior minister at the time and it is alleged that he gave the orders to shoot the protesters.

2007 Bangladesh - India Train

2007 : After 42 years, direct passenger train journeys are resumed between Bangladesh and India. The train carried government officials from India for the first time since 1965 when the train link was closed after the Indo-Pakistan war began.

2008 U.S.A. Gas Prices Reach New Highs

2008 : Gas prices around the US hit new highs as the demand for oil increases and the price of a barrel of oil reaches new highs resulting in much higher gas prices, the price of a gallon of gas ranges between $4.20 and $4.85 in different states.

2009 U.S.A. / South Korea Cyber Attacks

2009 : Government websites in both the United States and South Korea faced cyber attack attempts on this day. The United States was able to ward off most attacks, while South Korea was unable to. The attacks were believed to be carried out by North Korea, or North Korean sympathizers. These attacks highlighted the growing importance web security played in protecting government agencies and national intelligence.

2011 US Executes Mexican Citizen, UN Says Execution Violates International Law

2011 : The US state of Texas executed Humberto Leal Garcia, a thirty-eight year old Mexican citizen who had been convicted of raping and killing an American girl in 1994. Despite pleas to hold off on the execution from US Officials, Mexican Officials, and the UN, Texas carried out the sentence of death by lethal injection. The United Nations stated that the US breached international law by violating the Vienna Convention when Leal Garcia was told he could not have access to Mexican consular officials.

2012 Actor Ernest Borgnine Dies

2012 : Ernest Borgnine, an Oscar-winning film and television actor died of renal failure at the age of ninety-five. Borgnine won an Academy Award for the 1955 film Marty and was known for appearing in The Poseidon Adventure and The Wild Bunch.

2013 Scotland Boeing 787 Takes First Flight

2013 : The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has taken its first long flight from Glasgow, Scotland to Cancun, Mexico. Boeing claims the aircraft to be the world's most efficient and it is now being introduced for selected flights throughout the world. The plane had been launched more than a year previously but had been plagued with problems.