March 10th Major News Events

1940 U.S.A. Opera Shown On TV

1940 : For the first time on broadcast television, an opera was broadcast into living rooms across the nation. The opera was Ruggiero Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci."

1940 England Peace Talks

1940 : Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles met with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in London, England to discuss a peace proposal. This particular talk took place not too long after a meeting with Adolf Hitler that was planned in Berlin, Germany.

1942 Australia Japanese landed

1942 : The Japanese have landed for the third time in Australia-this time about 400 miles from the mainland. Australia was soon to become the next World War II target.

1945 World War II Tokyo Firebombed

1945 : B-29 fighter planes firebombed Tokyo.

1956 China Formosa

1956 : According to the press, new offensives were being carried out by Communist troops. These attacks were to take place across from Formosa, and north as far as the mouth of the Yangtze River. Formose premier O.K. Yui, made mention in his own way that the province was prepared for the attack, and warned the communists of the fierce battle to take place.

1956 Cyprus Archbishop Makarios

1956 : Following the deportation by British authorities of Archbishop Makarios. Rioting and demonstrations have broken out in Cyprus.

1959 Tibet Dalai Lama

1959 : After the Chinese invasion and control of Tibet, Tibetan rebels revolt against the Chinese control by surrounding the summer palace of the Dalai Lama to protect the Dalai Lama but he is forced to flee to India who granted him political asylum.

1972 China Chiang Kai Shek

1972 : Chiang Kai Shek was asked by the Nationalist Party to continue as president of China. He was to be elected and will serve his fifth term of six years. One of Kai Shek’s challenges during this time was to stand against communist foreign policy-making.

1973 Bermuda British Governor Shot

1973 : The British governor and his assistant are assassinated in Bermuda.

1975 Vietnam Ban Me Thout

1975 : The city of Ban Me Thout was seized by North Vietnamese troops. Intense fighting occurred, almost exactly two years after a cease-fire was agreed upon after Paris peace talks had taken place. This particular battle was a major loss for the South Vietnam.

1985 Vietnam Konstantin U. Chernenko

1985 : The Soviet leader Konstantin U. Chernenko has died at age 73 and Politburo member Mikhail S. Gorbachev is chosen to succeed him.

1988 Switzerland Prince Charles

1988 : An avalanche hit the British royal party including Prince Charles as they were ski-ing off piste above the resort of Klosters in Switzerland . The Prince and several other members of the party, including their guide, were able to ski to safety, but one of the Prince's closest friends Major Hugh Lindsay, former equerry to the Queen is not so lucky.

1988 Lebanon

1988 : Good news was announced on March 10, 1988. Briton Peter Coleridge British relief worker of the American Oxfam Agency was released along with Syrian relief assistant Omar Traboulsi two days ago (March 8, 1988). These men were both abducted at a Palestinian refugee camp about a week prior to this date.

1990 U.S.A. Sewage Spill

1990 : On this day, 22,000 gallons of sewage had spilled, and had run into Stoney Creek near Riveria Beach. The spill was caused by a sewage line valve failure. Water in this area was then tested for safety reasons.

1990 Iraq Farzad Bazoft

1990 : A court in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has imposed the death sentence on The Observer journalist Farzad Bazoft.

1993 U.S.A. Dr. David Gunn

1993 : Dr. David Gunn is murdered by an anti-abortion activist ( Michael F. Griffin ) outside a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic.

1994 U.S.A. Non Smoking Policy

1994 : The Pentagon has introduced new smoking policies in the Pacific. For example, smoking is not allowed on military bases such as the ones located in Japan (including on the Okinawan Island) and Korea. At this time there was varying opinions expressed about the effectiveness of these new smoking laws. One point of view was that no smoking except in designate areas is the norm on certain Air Force bases already anyway. However, one big change would be that smokers would need to report outside in order to light up. Some exceptions applied, such as inside certain restaurants and bars where certain areas were still set aside for smoking.

2002 Palestine Israeli Attack

2002 : Israeli helicopters attacked and destroyed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's office in Gaza City.

2005 Iraq Suicide Bomber

2005 : A suicide bomber wired with bombs blows himself up at a funeral in Mosul, Iraq, killing at least 47 people.

2006 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (M.R.O.)

2006 : NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has parked itself in an elliptical orbit around the planet. There was a tense period of radio silence when the spacecraft passed behind Mars. The probe will steadily be reducing the size of its orbit until it reaches an optimal position to start its studies. The M.R.O. will be examining the surface and atmosphere in great detail. The spacecraft's engines have fired, and slowed its speed, and this has allowed it to be captured by Mars' gravity. Its continual experiments will result in periods of radio silence.

2006 England No English Parliament

2006 : The idea of an English parliament has been rejected by the Lord Chancellor in a speech on devolution. He said that such an institution would lead to the break up of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party has said it was against an English parliament as well, but wanted England-only votes on English issues at Westminster. One of its frontbenchers has said it is wrong that Scottish and Welsh M.P's can vote on English matters but not vice-versa.

2007 US President approves more troops for Iraq and Afghanistan

2007 : President Bush has approved a further 8,200 troops for Iraq and Afghanistan on top of reinforcements he has already ordered. This move has come during the fiery debates that are taking place in Washington over the wars. The President had agreed to send additional troops to provide support for those combat forces and to handle more anticipated Iraqi prisoners. He also decided to send a 3,500-member brigade to Afghanistan to accelerate the training of local forces.

2008 Obama refutes Clinton as a running mate

2008 : Barack Obama has implored voters to discount the political chatter about him joining the Hillary Clinton's presidential ticket. 'I don't know how somebody who's in second place can offer the vice-presidency to someone who's in first place,' he said. 'If I'm not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice-president?' In a Mississippi town meeting he said that 'I've won twice as many states as Senator Clinton' and 'I have more delegates than Senator Clinton.'

2009 US Senate passes ‘pork-barreled’ spending omnibus

2009 : The Senate has voted for the spending bill that will fund the U.S. Government for the rest of the budget year. This has happened despite the complaints of spending nearly $8 billion in what critics called 'pork-barrel' projects. The Senators have voted 62-35 to cut off debate on the $410 billion measure. The omnibus spending bill has included more than eight thousand congressional 'earmarks,' which have caused critics to question the President's pledge to end wasteful spending. Senator McCain has been a longtime critic of congressional spending and said that the vote has shown that it was 'business as usual.'

2011 Wisconsin Passes Anti-Union Budget

2011 : After weeks of protests and efforts by Democratic Senators in the state of Wisconsin to block an anti-union provision in the budget bill, Senate Republicans passed the bill using a procedural move to bypass further interruption by those opposed. The provision would strip public workers in the state of their collective bargaining rights which activists believed was a purely political move against unions. Governor Scott Walker denied the move was political and stated the action was needed to balance the budget.

2012 US Coke and Pepsi Alter Soda Formulas

2012 : Coke and Pepsi have altered their formulas slightly in order to avoid having to place a cancer warning label on bottles of their products. The companies have changed the way that they make the caramel coloring in the drinks by adding less 4-MEI, the carcinogen in question. The formulas had already been changed in the US state of California and are now going to be changed in the rest of the states.

2013 Swedish Princess Dies

2013 : Princess Lilian of Sweden died at the age of ninety-seven after suffering from Alzheimer's for several years. Princess Lilian was born in Wales and had married in to the Swedish royal family after falling in love with Prince Bertil. Their romance was well known in the country and the couple had faced many objections to their marriage.

2014 North Korean Leader Wins Unanimous Election

2014 : North Korea leader Kim Jong-un was unanimously elected to the North Korean parliament in his district. This was the first of such type of elections to take place since Kim Jong-un took power in 2011.