March 26th Major News Events

1963 Korea Referendum

1963 : Local protest was made in Korea against military rule of this country, and the Korean people were soon to be given a chance to decide whether or not this should continue. A referendum would soon be taken by the government of this country. Likewise, nations such as the U.S.A. moved to support anti-military Korean government rule. This action was highly welcomed.

1971 Bangladesh Independence

1971 : The country of Bangladesh had declared its independence. This decree was made by Leader Sheikh. Bangladesh was formerly East Pakistan.

1981 New British Party Social Democrats

1981 : A new political party ( Social Democrats ) has been formed in the UK from four breakaway Labour party defectors Roy Jenkins, David Owen, William Rodgers and Shirley Williams. The Social Democrats have launched their new political party pledging to "reconcile the nation" and "heal divisions between classes". They left the Labour party over the current leadership under Michael Foot moving further to the radical left, but did not feel they could support the conservative party under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was dividing Britain into haves and have nots. They have described the new Social Democrat Party as left-of-center party and believe strongly in Proportional representation "ONE MAN ONE VOTE" but without agreement by the other two parties it was unlikely to ever happen. The party formed an alliance over the next few years with the Liberal Party but after the 1987 general election which the conservatives won under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. The labour party chose a more moderate leader Neil Kinnock and supporters of the SDP went back to the labour party hoping that they could get a more moderate labour party back in power and the Social Democrat Party was folded in 1990.

1981 Germany Fundraiser to Fight World Hunger

1981 : Information about a very unique fundraiser to help fight against hunger around the world was printed on this day. A group of high school students in Germany planned to fast from solid food for up to 30 hours. This effort was made in order to learn about the affects of hunger and how it would feel to go without food. It was also designed to help raise funds for World Vision International, one of the largest hunger-fighting organizations. People were to pledge a certain amount of money for every hour a student would go without food.

1982 U.S.A. Vietnam Veterans Memorial

1982 : Groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington, D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Memorial came about from the work of the The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF), established in 1979 to create a memorial to veterans of the Vietnam War, and in 1980 congress authorizes three acres near the Lincoln Memorial for the site. The main part of the memorial was completed in 1982 and receives around 3 million visitors each year.

1990

1990 : An announcement of the 40th anniversary of the first German-American Boy Scout Troop was made on this day. This troop met for the first time on January 13th, 1949.

1999 England Miners Win Compensation

1999 : Ex-miners in England have won their case for compensation in a deal worth £2 billion for lung disease caused through working underground in the coal mining industry. Legal representation for the miners claimed it had been known for decades dust produced in the coal mining process could cause lung disease but not enough was done to protect them. Many of these miners were working underground in the 50's before health and safety laws ensured there were dust masks and showers at collieries.

1999 U.S.A. Dr. Jack Kevorkian

1999 : Dr. Jack Kevorkian, was found guilty of second-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to a terminally ill man and airing it on the television program "60 Minutes." He allowed the airing of a videotape on "60 Minutes." that he had made which depicted the voluntary euthanasia of Thomas Youk, 52, an adult male with full capacity who was in the final stages of ALS. He was sentenced to to serve a 10-25 year prison sentence by the judge, he was released on parole in 2007 on the condition that he cannot help anyone else die. He no longer assists in voluntary euthanasia but does campaign that the law is changed ( currently the only US State that allows legalized doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill people is Oregon. )

2000 Israel Pope John Paul II

2000 : Pope John Paul II who is currently on visiting Israel as part of his Millennium Pilgrimage, prayed for forgiveness of the sins of those involved in the Holocaust. John Paul II has said visiting the area has fulfilled one of his dreams since he was elected Pontiff in 1978. The trip is a milestone in relations between Catholicism and Judaism.

2000 Russia Vladimir Putin

2000 : Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia for the first time he went on to be re-elected in 2004 and is the current President of the Russian Federation.

2002 Afghanistan Earthquake

2002 : A devastating earthquake shook up villages located in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Northern Afghanistan. It was estimated that 1,800 people had died and up to 10,000 people were homeless.

2007 Egyptian Reforms

2007 : The referendum's controversial amendments to Egypt's constitution have been approved by 75.9% of voters. The Justice Ministry says that there was a 27% turnout for the vote, although some independent groups have put it at 5%. The country's main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, who had boycotted the vote, were critical of the amendments being used as a means of creating a police state. A senior Muslim Brotherhood official has said that the result was forged. The constitutional amendments included a ban on the creation of political parties based on religion, and sweeping security powers. The government says the changes will deepen democracy, but opponents say that they make it will be easier to rig future elections.

2007 Power-sharing in Northern Ireland

2007 : Devolved government will be returning to Northern Ireland from the historic meeting that took place between the leaders of the D.U.P. and Sinn Fein. At Stormont, Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams have confirmed that power-sharing will begin on May 8th. Mr. Paisley said the that the D.U.P. was committed to full participation in government, and Adams said it was the start of a new era. The British and Irish governments have been saying that they would close the Assembly if the executive did not agree on more power-sharing.

2008 Pakistan New Prime Minister

2008 : Following the result of elections in Pakistan one month ago President Musharraf swears in newly chosen Prime Minister of Pakistan.

2008 Robert Gates arrives in India

2008 : The Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, has arrived in Delhi to promote military ties, and to promote U.S. arms manufacturers. The U.S. defense firms will be competing with their Russian and European rivals to sell fighter jets to India. Gates says he wants to enhance the U.S's already strong relationship India's military. India has usually relied on Russian arms imports in the past.

2008 US Starbucks closes for 3 1/2 hrs

2008 : Starbucks are shutting all of its branches for three-and-a-half hours of staff training on the evening This Day 2008. This has distrupted the daily routines of millions of Americans, who will have to move to rival coffee shops. Starbucks is reported as serving fifty million Americans a week. All seven thousand branches will be closing at 17.30 local time to train the chain's 135,000 staff.

2008 A.I.G. executives convicted of fraud

2008 : Five of American International Group's (A.I.G's) insurance executives have been convicted of fraud for their part in its accounting scandal. The former boss of reinsurance firm General Re was among those found guilty, and might be facing years in jail. All five have been convicted in the deals that A.I.G. made with General Re.

2008 Ford Sell Jaguar and Land Rover

2008 : The Ford Motor Company is dealing with the failure of its Land Rover and Jaguar brands. After decades of losses at Jaguar and a history of reliability issues at Land Rover, Ford has announced that it will be selling them to India's Tata Motors Limited for $2.3 billion. The price of the combined units is less than what Ford paid for them. Ford acquired Jaguar in 1989 and Land Rover in 2000. When finalized, Volvo will be the only remaining nameplate in the Premier Auto Group, and Ford has vowed to hold onto the brand and continue operating it.

2009 United States Tornadoes in Mississippi

2009 : Weather conditions have caused Mississippi's Governor to declare a state of emergency in twelve counties in the southern parts of the state. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Operations Center has said that the storms, which have included two tornadoes, have damaged more than one hundred homes and injured twenty-four people. Simpson County, about forty miles southeast of Jackson, was the worst hit, and a tornado touched down in that county about 4 a.m. on the 26th.

2010 Obama and Medvedev Agree to Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty

2010 : Barack Obama and the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed a new nuclear arms reduction treaty. The treaty will limit both sides to 1,550 warheads, which is about 30% less than currently are allowed. The deal will replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and will be signed in Prague on April 8th. The agreement was made by telephone. “I’m pleased to announce that after a year of intense negotiations, the United States and Russia have agreed to the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades,” Obama said after talking with Medvedev.

2010 UK Times and Sunday Times Will Only Be available Online Via Subscription

2010 : The Times and Sunday Times newspapers announce plan to charge readers for their online news, becoming two of the largest Newspapers to adopt Web fees for news access Free access is now restricted to public libraries. The Times has been online since March 1999 with up to 3/4 million readers online each day. Following the announcement visitors to the web sites are now 10% of pre fees, This is a difficult time for traditional print media with increased use of the Internet to obtain the latest news and many Traditional News organizations are watching the Times experiment to gauge it's success or failure.

2011 US Politician Ferraro Dies

2011 : Geraldine Ferraro, a prominent US Democrat, died after battling cancer for several years. Ferraro was famously known as the first female vice-presidential candidate when she became Walter Mondale's running mate in the 1984 election against Ronald Reagan.

2012 BMW Recalls 1.3 Million Vehicles Worldwide

2012 : German auto manufacturer BMW has recalled a total of 1.3 million vehicles from their 5 and 6 series models worldwide due to battery issues that could cause a fire. The defect involved an incorrectly mounted battery cable that had the potential to cause fires and that owners of the 5 and 6 series models manufactured between 2003 and 2010 should take their vehicles into dealers for checks and repairs.

2013 North Dakota Passes Strict Abortion Law

2013 : The US state of North Dakota passed the strictest anti-abortion law yet in the United States. The law banned abortion after a fetal heartbeat could be detected, which could be as early as six weeks. The law does not have any exceptions regarding rape, incest, or the health of the mother.

2014 North Korea Kim Jong-un Haircut for Students

2014 : It was reported that male university students in North Korea would now be required to sport the same haircut as leader Kim Jong-un. It was announced several weeks before but was now beginning to be enforced across the country. North Korea already had pre-approved haircut styles for men and women in place.