A review of events and their interpretation.
Thursday, June 1Crisis in Luxembourg is not a headline we ever used all that often, but it's appropriate to the hostage situation there. A lone gunman held 25 pre-schoolers at their nursery in the Grand Duchy. The stand-off ended late Thursday when police got the man to come to a window on the pretext that he could address the nation by live TV. They then shot him. A bomb explodes under Hammersmith Bridge early in the morning. There are no injuries, but the bridge will be closed for around three weeks while the structure is checked. Police fear that the explosion is the work of a dissident Irish Republican group. Sinn Fein expresses condemnation of the development. Andrew Foulds, actor-turned-politician, dies aged 77. A fine Shakespearian actor in the immediate post-war period, Foulds will be best remembered as Jet Morgan in the seminal 1950s radio drama, "Journey Into Space." After that triumph, he turned to politics, joining the Commons as Labour MP for Smethwick (later Warley) from 1966 to '97. |
June 2Julia Roberts owns her own name, at least in cyberspace. The hairy-armpitted actress, best known for her performances in Pretty Woman and Notting Hill, took someone called Russell Boyd to court, claiming that his juliaroberts.com domain name violated her trademark. Now the World Intellectual Property Organisation, a UN-sponsored body that came into existence early this year, has ruled in Roberts' favour. |
June 3The Queen and Camilla Parker-Horse meet at a formal occasion. It's the first time the two have met, after Lixz Windsor snubbed the divorcee on a number of prior occasions. Royal watchers are divided whether this signifies a thawing of relations between the monarch and the tedious one. It's even less clear who actually cares about this development. Monday's development that the Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken with Parker-Horse is seen as further evidence of a plan to make her acceptable to the rest of the world. |
June 4US President Clinton takes a trip to Russia, meeting New President Putin. The most delicate issue is the US desire to amend the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty allowing it to create a national antimissile defense system. Russian leaders have refused the proposal as it would jeopardise thirty years of arms control agreements and that would shift the balance of nuclear power too far in favour of the US. The Monaco Grand Prix was as madly chaotic as ever. There were two false starts, the second resulting in a half dozen drivers having to run a mile through the streets of Monaco to get to their cars. On the race proper, season leader Michael Schumacer raced away, building up a 35 second lead after as many laps. Disaster struck when his car's suspension broke at two-thirds distance, and the Ferrari mechanics were unable to repair the fault. That gifted the lead to David Coulthard, who went on to win the race. His McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinnen lost the race with a 55 second pit-stop, while long-time second place driver Jarno Trulli's Jordan lost its engine half way through. |
June 5Lord Sawyer, the former chair of The Party, is not happy with St Tony Blair. Sawyer says that the Saint is seen as out of touch with the common person, and is nowhere near as populist as his predecessor Margaret Thatcher. Though Tony remains silent - he's looking after baby Jeleo, don't cha know - insiders suggest Sawyer has a point. Former Chilean leader General Pinochet is stripped of senatorial immunity. The move will allow him to be prosecuted over alleged breaches of human rights during his rule from 1973-90. The Second Test is drawn. England makes 374 - including an Atherton 134. Zimbabwe progresses to 285/4 before declaring at the start of the fifth day. England then slumps to 147, giving Zimbabwe a scent of victory after Heath Streak takes quick wickets. Atherton blocks, allowing England's innings to stretch to the last hour. Zimbabwe made 25/1 before the close. The match lost almost two days to the weather, and is drawn. |
June 6Oppsition baldie William Hague offers a radical new method of dealing with disruptive pupils. The Conservative party would take them out of class and isolate them in specialist units. This breath-taking advance is welcomed by everyone, including notoriously reactionary teaching unions. The Party points out that this runs counter to their integrationist policies, though heads have been penalised for throwing kids out of their school for two years. Foreignome Secretary Robin Crook announces a ban on diamonds from Sierra Leone. He doesn't want The UK Government to take any responsibility for the civil war raging in that country. He even disclaims the credit for allowing Sandline, a British firm, to export arms-making equipment to Sierra Leone back in 1998. |
June 7Prime Minister Blair faces a slow hand clap from the Womens' Institute. Addressing their triennial conference, Blah spouted a lot of political stuff about education and such like. Then, from the hall, came the slow, painful, clap of doom. It got so bad that the chair was forced to appeal for quiet. Blar was clearly flustered by the events, and started summarising his script in order to get out of the place as quickly as possible. Commonwealth Foreign Ministers suspend Fiji from the organisation. Coup leader George Speight said he would hold out for as long as necessary to secure their demands for rule by indiginous Fijians. A UN conference on women opens in New York with a call to extend and improve the education of girls. US biotech company Monsatan takes a Canadian farmer to court, accusing him of illegally growing its genetically modified crop. Modified canola, a variant of rapeseed, was found growing on his farm. He says he never planted it, never wanted it and suspects it blew onto his land uninvited. Monsatan's lawyers said more than 300 hectares of the farmer's crop was their product. |
June 8The British defence attache in Athens is shot in the head. No group claims responsibility, but it's thought to be the work of a group that's opposed to other countries stationing soldiers in Greece. Justice Penfold decrees Microsoft should be split into two parts. After the software behemoth crushed Netscape by unlawful tactics, it will be split into Operating Systems and User Software divisions. An alternate plan, to split the group into smaller OS, Applications and a massive Bug-Fixing unit were turned down, lest only the last-named survive. Chinese police close a website and arrested its creator for operating an independent news service. Police in the southwestern city of Chengdu charged Huang Qi with subverting state power. His website boldly reported news about the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, mistreatment of Falungong members and official corruption. Huang launched the website last June to help people find missing relatives and friends. The site caught the attention of the government when it began publishing essays about corruption and human rights violations. |
June 9The News Of The Screws, a very tabloid tabloid, has three employees arrested in Belgium. The twits are nicked after entering Belgium carrying knives. This is illegal, especially with a football tournament starting tomorrow. The Belgians arrest them on that charge, also being without their passports, and have reported the trio to the UK Home Office for falsifying their passports: under "Occupation", they all put "journalist." Three South African cricketers were offered bribes. Hansie Cronje, fired from the country's captaincy two months ago, offered bungs to batsman Herschall Gibbs, all-rounder Peter Strydholm, and bowler Henry Williams. Strydholm laughed in Cronje's face, the two others took up the offer but never received a penny. Gibbs has been suspended from the team to tour Sri Lanka next month, while Williams has already retired from the game. |
June 10President Hafaz Assad of Syria dies aged 61, from heart disease. Assad came to power in 1966 following a military coup, and consolidated the hold of his Sunni Muslim group over the majority Shi'ite grouping by fierce repression. His forces invaded Lebanon in 1976, turning the country into a civil warzone for the next 15 years, but the territory acted as a buffer against Israel following her invasion of South Lebanon in 1982. Though cited as an international terrorist country in the mid-80s, Syria's stock with the west rose after she sent troops against Sadaam Hussein in the Kuwaiti war of 1991. In his later years, Assad was heavily involved in negotiations with Israel over the return of the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in a 1967 war. Mary Pierce wins the French Open tennis, beating Conchita Martinez in straight sets. Pierce becomes the first French woman to win the title since 1967, and adds the crown to her 1996 triumph in Australia. In the Euro 2000 opener, co-hosts Belgium beats Sweden 2-1 in an uninspired match. |
June 11The new Millennium Bridge is closed. London's wafer-thin bridge, linking St Paul's Cathedral to the Modern Tat art gallery, opened yesterday, but swayed badly when people walked on it in some wind. The designers and architects scratch their heads, worried that they might not have factored London weather into their design. Gustavo Kuerten wins the French Open final, beating Magnus Norman of Sweden in four sets. The Brazilian, champion in 1997, sqandered ten match points in the 95 minute fourth set, only to win the tie break 8-6. Euro 2000 continues. Italy beats Turkey 2-1, following a very dubious penalty. The Turkish side deserves better, their fans misbehave again. France beats Denmark 3-0 in a tediously one-sided match that features more injuries than bookings. The Netherlands and Czech Republic fight out a classy, end-to-end match that the Czechs should have won on many occasions. It's a penalty that splits the sides, though, with the Dutch winning 1-0.
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June 12The Conservative Party leader resigns. Ed Byrne steps down as leader of Newfoundland's Progressive Conservatives, citing his party's persistant failure to beat the governing Liberals at anything. The clincher came over the weekend, when the Grits beat the PCs at a game of shove ha'penny. Cahoot, Abbey National's new online bank crashed only hours after launch and was only accessible intermittently throughout the day. The online bank cost Abbey National £200 million to set up after much hyped investment in 'superior technology' that still failed on the day. The bank has so far had no explanation for the technical troubles, but there has been much speculation that unexpected interest - almost two people wanting simultaneous page views - overloaded the system. Delegates from 180 countries agree on a new UN plan to improve women's equality. The new document reaffirms the 150page action plan adopted at the 1995 UN women's conference in Beijing. It adds tougher measures dealing with domestic violence and trafficking in women, and tackles the impact on women of HIV/AIDS and globalization. Delegates failed to reach agreement on the contentious issue of abortion. Proposed references to sexual rights and sexual orientation were also dropped from the final text. In Euro 2000, Germany and Romania draw 1-1. Ilie puts the Romanians ahead on 5 minutes, Scholl equalising just before the half hour. Both sides make chances, but a draw is a fair result. England goes 2-0 up in the first 22 minutes, but Portugal ties the match by half-time, and goes on to win 3-2 in a match that's now expected to decide the second qualification place from the group.
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June 13A private prosecution begins against the police officer in charge at the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy in 1989. The chief police officer, David Duggenfield, is accused of failing to take proper precautions to stop overcrowding by not blocking a tunnel when they threw the turnstiles open at an FA Cup Semi-Final. 96 people were killed in the worst tragedy at a sporting stadium. A ceasefire proposal is accepted by Eritrea and Ethiopia. United Nations peacekeepers enter a security zone within Eritrean territory. The deal allows Ethiopian forces to pull back to the postions they held before the twoyear border war and pushes Eritrean forces 25km back into Eritrea. UN peacekeepers under the auspices of the OAU are then to be deployed in the ``temporary security zone'' between the two sides' forces until international arbitrators demarcate the 1,000km border. Euro 2000: Day Four. Many people's favourites for the group, Spain, crash to an opening defeat to Norway. 1-0 is the scoreline, the goal coming on a strike direct from the goalie's clearance. Slovenia takes a 3-0 lead over local rivals Yugoslavia, only to lose the lot in seven frenzied minutes of goal-mouth action. 3-3 the final.
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June 14The leaders of the two Koreas begin their first ever summit in the North Korean capital Pyongyang, following 50 years of enmity between the two countries. North Korea's reclusive Kim Jongil surprised everyone by appearing at the airport to greet South Korea's President Kim Daejung personally in a lavish welcome ceremony. There were scenes of high emotion as a smiling Kim Jongil walked over to Kim Daejung's jet and the two leaders shook hands on the tarmac. A major study of capital punishment in the United States says more than twothirds of convictions are flawed so that they are overturned on appeal. America's capital punishment system is fraught with errors, says the Columbia Uni report. The fault lies in part with the prosecutors who refuse to share vital evidence with defence lawyers and juries. Frozen food specialist store Iceland will only stock organic vegetables from autumn. The company has repositioned itself at the eco-friendly forefront of peaceful resistance to novel foods, and was the first leading chain to remove genetically modified foods in 1998. The new move is expected to cut profits on the lines, as the store will take up to 40% of the European market in organic veg. The increased margins elsewhere will more than recoup early losses. Italy does rather well in beating Belgium 2-0. They don't deserve that margin, neither side does. |
June 15Hansie Cronje comes clean. He admits taking huge bungs from Indian bookmakers, and repeatedly lying to cover his tracks. Cronje's honest outburst comes after he was given immunity from criminal prosecution by the South African government. Clothes retailer C&A is to leave Britain. All the chain's stores will close by early January, with the loss of over 8000 jobs. The group blames pressure in the mid-market and the weak Euro. Euro 2000 Sweden and Turkey play out one of the most tedious games imaginable. The final result is 0-0, but we've gone to sleep long before half time.
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June 16Serbian opposition leader Luk Draskovic is shot by Government forces. He suffers nothing more than a few grazes, and rails against the Milosevic loyalists. Korea's joint summit ends in optimism. The North's Kim II-jong and the South's Kim Dae-jung agreed to allow separated families to meet; to repatriate political prisoners; to promote economic, sports, and cultural exchanges; and to advance reunification "in a manner that respects and recognizes each side's formula." Farewell, Czech Republic Last time's runners-up are eliminated at the first round stage, after losing 2-1 to France. Though the French were the better side on the night, the Czechs were better than many sides that will progress. The Netherlands comes alive in the second half to beat Denmark 3-0, and joins France in the last eight.
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June 17The air traffic control system in London breaks down, stranding hundreds of passengers and delaying planes across the region. The system would have been replaced this summer had Government contractors not thoroughly botched the job. The United Nations approves unprecedented measures against Burma over its use of forced labour. The International Labour Organisation gave the Burmese military government until 30 November to put an end to the practice, or face diplomatic sanctions. Western states demanded immediate action, while Asian countries including China, Japan, India and Malaysia, opposed the move. Portugal justifies their qualification by beating Romania 1-0 in the last minute of injury time. They will now top the group. England beats Germany 1-0 in a tepid match.
Pakistan -v- Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka makes 273, Atapattu top scores with 73, Waqar Younis claims his 300th wicket to end the innings. Pakistan begins well, but loses six wickets in the third morning, Muralitharan taking five. A last wicket stand of 90 - Wasim Akram makes 78 - steers Pakistan to a more comfortable total of 266, just seven behind on first innings. Akram then went on to take his 400th wicket in the Sri Lankan reply, the hosts reduced to 88/7 and 123 all out. Though Mura tried hard, taking three quick wickets, that man Akram came to the wicket, steered a calm 20*, and Pakistan to the 131 needed for victory. Pakistan wins by seven wickets.
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June 18UEFA threatens to expel England from the Euro 2000 tournament. The ultimatum will be triggered if there's a repeat of last night's scenes in Brussels, where English fans clashed with Belgian police. Both sides blame each other for starting the confrontation. The Canadian Grand Prix is a Ferrari 1-2, with rain king Michael Schumacher triumphing over teammate Rubens Barichello. Giancarlo Fisichella finishes third, his fourth straight podium place on the Montreal track. Champion Mika Hakkinen finishes fourth, but early pace-setter David Coulthard gets a ten second time penalty for a false start and finishes out of the points in 7th place. On the field, Spain comes alive, beating Slovenia 2-1 in a match they ruled but never quite dominated. Yugoslavia beats Norway 1-0 - it's a dour match, more of a punch-up than a game of football.
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June 1958 people are found dead in the back of a lorry at Dover. There are two survivors. The attempted immigrants, believed to be Chinese, entered the lorry near the Belgian port of Zebrugge prior to a seven hour sea crossing. It's the latest in a long catalogue of people smuggling their way into the UK by this means. The lorry driver is later charged with manslaughter. Several leading Canadian churches, including the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, are demanding that the Canadian Government help them financially as they face thousands of legal claims being made against them. The claims stem from allegations of sexual and physical abuse being made by former students of native Indian schools operated by Canadian churches between the 1930s and 1970s. Justice Minister Anne McLellan says there is no doubt that many were abused over decades in an attempt to assimilate them into AngloSaxon Christian values. The Roman Catholic, Anglican and United Churches have acknowledged the abuse but thousands of lawsuits are draining the churches of funds. The churches argue that the schools were part of the Government's overall policy at the time, so it should pay some of the costs. The final Group B matches. Italy rests half its A team and still beats Sweden 2-1, scoring the winner in the last five minutes of play. Belgium loses 2-0 to Turkey, but only after a perfectly good goal is ruled offside, and the first Turkish strike follows some bad play. Turkey will try to ride their luck against Portugal, Italy will face the Group A runners-up, to be decided tomorrow.
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June 20Greece will join the European Single Currency at the start of next year. The drachma is scheduled to be abolished in favour of the Hard-ECU in summer 2004, unless the H-ECU has softened to embarrass the Germans by then. Also at the EU summit in Lisbon came news that the trade bloc wants to soften its pointless posturing against Austria, finally accepting that it has no point and is achieving nothing. Group A wraps up. Though Romania only takes the lead two minutes from time, and that from a penalty, they're far stronger than England in the 3-2 victory. They side now goes on to meet Italy in the last eight. Portugal's Conciecao scores all three as his side beats Germany 3-0. The defending champion finishes bottom of its group and fails to progress past the opening round of a major tournament for the first time in 16 years.
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June 21
The Group C wrap up sees Slovenia draw 0-0 with Norway. That puts the plucky Alpine side out, but looks to steer the Scandinavians through. Spain, though, scores two goals in injury time after that match finishes to beat Yugoslavia 4-3. Group D finishes with a cracking match as the Netherlands beats France 3-2 to top the group. The Dutch now meet Yugoslavia, France faces Spain. The Czech Republic wins the battle of the minnows, 2-0 against the Danes.
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June 22The Independent Television Commission tells leading commercial channel ITV to bring forward its Nightly News. The problems started in March last year, when ITV closed its long-running News at Ten in favour of bulletins at 6:30 and 11. Audiences have fallen for the news, and the ITC has responded to politicians worried that their messages are being lost, and told ITV to move The Nightly backwards. ITV is expected to challenge the ruling as exceeding the ITC's powers. |
June 23Fifteen foreign backpackers are killed in a fire at a hostel in Queensland. Over 50 escape the blaze. Survivors say that the house did not have smoke alarms or a sprinkler system. The first round-the-world microlight flight comes to an end after broaching Chinese airspace. The flier, Gary Brittan, is brought down by Air Farce jets in Guangjong province. Gary Graham is murdered in Texas. Graham's last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court is rejected, along with his appeal to a Texas clemency board appointed by George Bush Minor. Graham, most probably wrongly convicted, struggled with his killers and proclaimed his innocence before he died. |
June 24Voting opens in Zimbabwe. The polls, delayed two months and marred by a campaign in which farmers were killed, are a straightforward contest between Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the Movement for Democratic Change. International observers have had to leap through many hoops to gain accreditation, leaving the way open to widespread fraud. Euro 2000 quarterfinals: Portugal beats Turkey 2-0. There's only ever one side in it, Turkey's hit-and-hope style is no match for the fluid Portugese, especially after the Turks are reduced to ten men after a defender confuses the ball with his opponent. It's one way for the last hour.
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June 25New Labour - New Tax Dodge. Lord Levy, the former record company exec turned NuLabour fundraiser, is accused of dodging taxes by only paying £5000 in one year. He claims he was living off his own capital, but this claim meets with derision from all sides. In the Japanese election, the ruling Liberal Democratic coalition is returned with a much reduced majority on a low turnout. Patrick Kluivert scores four as the Netherlands rampage to a 6-1 victory over Yugoslavia. Kluivert was clinical as he scored twice in each half before being substituted in the 60th. Marc Overmars added two more in the 78th and 90th minutes. Savo Milosevic scored a consolation goal for Yugoslavia in stoppage time, his fifth of the tournament. Kluivert became the first player to score four in a match at any European Championship finals and top scorer at Euro 2000 with six goals. The Netherlands will next play Italy on Thursday in Amsterdam. France outclasses Spain 2-0 in the other QF; they will meet Portugal on Wednesday. |
June 26A provisional map of the human genome is published. The genome, the code underlying DNA, opens the door to all sorts of genetic confirmations and improvements. The first inspection of IRA arms dumps has taken place. The two inspectors confirm that it would be impossible for them to be used without detection. NISec Peter Meddlesome says this is a great confidence-booster for the people of the province. |
June 27ZANU-PF is confirmed as the winners of the Zimbabwe election, winning 52 seats to the 47 taken by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Regional parties took three seats. Another 30 MPs will be directly nominated by the President, taking ZANU-PF past the winning line. This brief analysis does not take into account the clear intimidation and violence that has accompanied the campaign, and unleashed a tide of anger that's expected to drive Mugabe out of power by the end of the year. The United States Supreme Court rejects the admissibility of confessions given by suspects before police had read them their legal rights. The court also reaffirms the obligation of police to tell suspects that they have the right to remain silent, and that anything they say might be used in evidence against them. The ruling is one of the most important criminal law rulings in decades. The warnings have been a cornerstone of law since the court’s landmark 1966 ruling in Miranda v Arizona, after which the Miranda Rights of suspects took their name. If police officers fail to warn suspects about their right to remain silent, any confessions are not admissible. |
June 28Elian Gonzalez is to return to Cuba. The child, six years old, became a cause celebre after being shipwrecked off the Florida coast last November, then the focus of a tug-of-kid between his father in Cuba and more distant relatives in Miami. The path to Havana was cleared by news that the US Supreme Court would not hear pleas to hear him stay. The whole affair has left a very bitter taste, and shown the Miami Exiles as the powerless, self-obsessed group they are. The Swaying Millennium Bridge will remain closed for some months. The bridge, which opened and closed within minutes early this month, was being distracted by the way crowds moved over it. The builders will now add shock absorbers to the structure. A golden goal penalty kick by Zinedine Zidane gives France a 2-1 victory over Portugal. Zidane converted his penalty kick in the 117th minute, beating goalkeeper Vitor Baia high to the left side. Subtitute Sylvain Wiltord took a shot from an angle on the right side which hit the left hand of Portugal defender Abel Xavier just inside the end line. The aftermatch was spoiled by poor behaviour by the defeated Portugese side. |
June 29A cow born in 1996 is diagnosed with BSE. The animal is the first born after feeding restrictions were implemented that year to have the mad cow label attached. Health ministers say they don't care, and expect to be flipping more burgers after the next election. Italy joins France in the final of Euro 2000 after one of those days for the Dutch. Though Italy is reduced to ten men after half an hour, the Netherlands conspires to miss not one but two penalties, then spurn many opportunities during normal and extra time. The match goes to a full set of penalties, and Italy makes no mistake, winning 3-1. |
June 30David Copeland, the man responsible for killing three people in nail bombs in London last year is found guilty of murder. He had been on trial for the past four weeks; though he admitted planting the bombs, he had pleaded not guilty to murder through insanity. The court gave spontaneous cheers at the verdict. Lambeth Council unveils a plaque marking the work of Ken Livingstone, elected London Mayor last month. Owing to Lambeth's high standards of education, the plaque was actually marked Ken Livingston. The speller was taken out and deal wit. |
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