671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called Rokoku. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu.

1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the river Saleph while leading an army to Jerusalem.

1619 – Thirty Years’ War: Battle of Záblatí, a turning point in the Bohemian Revolt.

1692 – Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for “certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft and Sorceries”.

1793 – French Revolution: Following the arrests of Girondin leaders, the Jacobins gain control of the Committee of Public Safety installing the revolutionary dictatorship.

1871 – Sinmiyangyo: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 US Marines in a naval attack on Han River forts on Kanghwa Island, Korea.

1898 – Spanish–American War: In the Battle of Guantánamo Bay, U.S. Marines begin the American invasion of Spanish-held Cuba.

1916 – The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire was declared by Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca.

1935 – Dr. Robert Smith takes his last drink, and Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio, United States, by him and Bill Wilson.

The Lidice massacre is perpetrated as a reprisal for the assassination of Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich.

Six hundred forty-two men, women and children massacred at Oradour-sur-Glane, France.

1947 – Saab produces its first automobile.

1967 – The Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire.

1994 – China conducts a nuclear test for DF-31 warhead at Area C (Beishan), Lop Nur, its prominence being due to the Cox Report.

1997 – Before fleeing his northern stronghold, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen’s family members.

2002 – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.

2003 – The Spirit rover is launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.

 

Wednesday,  June 10th, 2020

A day after North Korea severed its hotlines with South Korea over defectors who sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the border, South Korea announces it is taking legal action against two organisations that conducted such operations, saying that they “have created tension between the two Koreas and caused danger to the border-area residents’ lives and safety”. (Reuters)

The Nepali parliament moves to approve a new map and revision of the national emblem which includes territory in India’s Uttarakhand state. (Times of India)

Sweden closes the case of the murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986 after 34 years of investigation. (CNN)

Several people, including Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, testify about police brutality and systemic racism before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. (NPR)

NASCAR announces that the display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited from all of its events and properties (ESPN)

 

 

Pelosi calls for Confederate statues to come down as Trump opposes renaming forts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for the removal of 11 Capitol Hill statues of Confederate leaders in a Wednesday letter amid America’s reckoning with racism after the killing of George Floyd. The Joint Committee on the Library, a congressional panel that manages the National Statuary Hall Collection, should start removing the statues “immediately,” Pelosi said. Democrats plan to introduce a bill to remove the statues as well. Pelosi’s move comes in contrast to President Trump, who declared Wednesday that he would not consider renaming forts named after Confederate generals. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said they’d support renaming the forts, but Trump disagreed, tweeting “our history as the greatest nation in the world will not be tampered with.” Source: ABC News

NASCAR bans display of Confederate flag from all events NASCAR just became the latest organization to prohibit the display of the Confederate flag from all events and properties, effective immediately. The auto racing organization released a statement on the matter Wednesday following nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice. The ban applies to fans, competitors, and anyone else involved in the industry. Prior to the announcement, driver Bubba Wallace, the first full-time African-American driver in the top-flight Cup series since 1971, had called for NASCAR to get the Confederate flag “out of here,” saying there is “no place” for it in the sport.  Source: NASCAR

 

Tuesday,  June 9th, 2020

The American reality TV program Cops is canceled after 31 years amid police brutality protests. (Washington Post)

The film Gone with the Wind is removed from the HBO Max streaming service. They say the 1939 film was “a product of its time” and depicted “ethnic & racial prejudices” that “were wrong then and are wrong today.” (BBC)

The End 

 

Tuesday,  June 9th, 2020

 

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan establishes the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm in order to review statues in London. A statue of Robert Milligan is removed. (The Independent)

Tanzanian opposition leader Freeman Mbowe is attacked by unidentified assailants as he entered his home. His party, the Chadema, says the attack may have been politically motivated. (Reuters)

 

Biden, Sharpton call for racial justice at George Floyd’s funeral Mourners gathered on Tuesday for the funeral of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis two weeks ago. Floyd’s death sparked a major wave of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke at the funeral via video, said the U.S. can’t “once again turn away from racism” and that “now is the time for racial justice.” Members of Floyd’s family also delivered powerful remarks. His niece vowed “justice will be served” and his brother thanked God for “giving me my own personal superman.” Rev. Al Sharpton, who previously eulogized Floyd at a prior memorial, pointed to examples in recent history of white police officers brutalizing black men and called for large-scale change. Source: ABC News

Gen. Charles Brown confirmed as first black service chief in U.S. military The Senate unanimously confirmed Gen. Charles Brown to be the Air Force’s new chief of staff on Tuesday. The move makes Brown the country’s first-ever black service chief, and the first black American to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff since Colin Powell was chair between 1989 and 1993. Brown is taking over for Gen. David Goldfein, who is expected to retire later this summer. Since 2018, Brown has served as the commander of Pacific Air Forces, and he also previously led the U.S. Air Forces Central Command in 2015 and 2016. Before that, he served multiple tours across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, piloting an F-16 fighter jet. Source: CNN

Cops canceled after 31 years amid police brutality protests Cops, the long-running show that follows police officers on patrol, was canceled by the Paramount Network on Tuesday. The move comes as protests against police brutality continue across the United States. The network said in a statement it already pulled reruns of Cops from the air, and “we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return.” The show, which launched on Fox in 1989, moved to Spike TV in 2013 and remained on the channel when it was rebranded as the Paramount Network in 2018. The 33rd season of Cops had been scheduled to premiere on Monday. A&E has also removed the show Live PD from its schedule “out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives.” Source: Variety

 

 

Monday,  June 8th, 2020

Multinational energy company BP announces in a conference call that it is cutting 15% of its workforce, which is roughly 10,000 jobs. (Reuters)

New Zealand has no active cases, as the last remaining patient is reported to have recovered. (Stuff)

New Zealand moves to its lowest alert level effective midnight local time (12 UTC), removing most restrictions but maintaining strict border controls. (Stuff)

Most schools in South Africa re-open after Education Minister Angie Motshekga says that efforts to contain the virus allowed 95% of schools to return to classes. South Africa has recorded nearly 50,000 cases and almost 1,000 deaths. (Reuters)

The End 

1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress.

1794 – Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution’s new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France.

1887 – Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the ‘Art of Compiling Statistics’, which was his punched card calculator.

1949 – George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is published.

1953 – The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons.

1966 – An F-104 Starfighter collides with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype no. 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, are both killed.

1967 – Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident occurs, killing 34 and wounding 171.

1972 – Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.

1982 – Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram.

1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O’Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia.

2004 – The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882.

2009 – Two American journalists are found guilty of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of penal labour.

 

Monday,  June 8th, 2020

Multinational energy company BP announces in a conference call that it is cutting 15% of its workforce, which is roughly 10,000 jobs. (Reuters)

New Zealand has no active cases, as the last remaining patient is reported to have recovered. (Stuff)

New Zealand moves to its lowest alert level effective midnight local time (12 UTC), removing most restrictions but maintaining strict border controls. (Stuff)

Most schools in South Africa re-open after Education Minister Angie Motshekga says that efforts to contain the virus allowed 95% of schools to return to classes. South Africa has recorded nearly 50,000 cases and almost 1,000 deaths. (Reuters)

Democrats unveil police reform bill  Democratic leaders on Monday unveiled the Justice in Policing Act, which would ban no-knock warrants in drug cases and chokeholds as well as create a national registry of police misconduct among other measures, two weeks after George Floyd’s killing in police custody set off a wave of protests throughout the country. “True justice can only be achieved with full, comprehensive action,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. “That’s what we are doing today. This is a first step. There is more to come.” Pelosi called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to “swiftly” take up the bill once it’s passed by the House, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed Democrats in the Senate “will not rest until we achieve real reforms.” Source: NBC News

World Bank: Up to 100 million may fall into poverty due to pandemic  In April, the World Bank estimated the coronavirus pandemic would push somewhere between 40 million and 60 million people into poverty worldwide. On Monday, that figure increased to between 70 million and 100 million. The bank also now anticipates the global economy will shrink by 5.2 percent, up from its three percent prediction in April. Emerging and developing economies, including Russia, Brazil, and India, are expected to shrink for the first time in 60 years. The World Bank expects nations in Latin America and the Caribbean to suffer the hardest blow, forecasting that the region will experience a 7.2 percent GDP decline. Even regions that could see an expansion, like East Asia and Pacific, would have their smallest economic growth since 1967, per the bank. Source: Financial Times

 

Derek Chauvin makes 1st appearance in court, bail set at $1.25 million  The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the killing of George Floyd made his first appearance in court on Monday. Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, appeared from jail via video for a hearing at the Hennepin County courthouse and had his bail raised to $1.25 million. The judge set his unconditional bail at $1.25 million, and he “was offered a reduced bail of $1 million if he agrees to certain conditions,” such as not working in security or law enforcement and not contacting Floyd’s family. Chauvin’s bail was previously set at $500,000. He has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. Source: CNN

 

Sunday, June 7th, 2020

The total tally of cases in Saudi Arabia exceeds 100,000. (Reuters)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a possible link between the May 30 drive-by shooting that killed a Federal Protective Service officer at Oakland, California, to a shootout in the Santa Cruz Mountains yesterday, which left a deputy dead and two other officers injured. The gunman, who was armed with a rifle and improvised explosive devices, was also wounded and taken into custody. (ABC News)

Black Lives Matter supporters tear down the 128-year-old Confederate Statue of Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park, Richmond, Virginia. (The Hill)

The Minneapolis City Council passes a resolution to begin the process of abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department. Mayor Jacob Frey has publicly opposed the measure. (Star Tribune)

The End Monday