On this day, April 17
A racy mediaeval story influences modern English, peace overtures, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Game of Thrones premières and John Coltrane honoured
1397 Geoffrey Chaucer tells the story of the bawdy The Canterbury Tales, which would become enormously popular in mediaeval Europe, for the first time at the court of Richard II. The greatest contribution of The Canterbury Tales to English literature was the popularisation of the English vernacular in mainstream literature.
1662 The first two apples are picked in the Company’s Garden in Cape Town. They are said to be small and rather tart.
1838 The ‘Grand Army of Natal’, led by Robert Bigger, John Cane and John Stubbs, reaches the Tugela River and runs into Zulu warriors who overwhelm the 18 Englishmen, 400 auxiliaries and 3 000 men, killing most of them.
1902 A British delegation proposes that Boer republic representatives meet at Vereeniging to decide on their future.
1946 Syria declares independence from France.
1949 At midnight, 26 Irish counties become the Republic of Ireland.
1961 CIA-backed Cuban exiles land in Cuba’s Bay of Pigs to overthrow Fidel Castro.
1969 Sirhan Sirhan is convicted assassinating of Robert Kenney, which is believed to be the first major incident of political violence in the US stemming from the Arab–Israeli conflict.
1970 The crippled Apollo 13 moon mission module limps to Earth and successfully splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, much to the relief of many around the world. There had been fears the astronauts would die in space.
1980 For the last time in Africa, the Union Jack is lowered as Rhodesia becomes Zimbabwe.
1984 Police officer Yvonne Fletcher is killed outside the Libyan Embassy in London.
1986 The Netherlands and the tiny Scilly Islands (off Cornwall, England) sign a peace treaty, ending a 335-year war, which began in 1651.
1986 The Pulitzer Prize is awarded to Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove.
1993 Two Los Angeles police officers are convicted of violating the civil rights of Rodney King“, whose beating sparks violent riots which only end when the Marines were brought in.
2011 The hugely popular TV series, Game of Thrones, based on the books by George RR Martin, premières
2015 Jazz composer and musician John Coltrane is awarded a posthumous Special Citation by the Pulitzer Prize board.
2023 New Research shows the Great Pacific Garbage Patch now has coast creatures living and breeding in it, including jellyfish, sponges and worms, raising concerns about the spread of invasive species.
April 14, 2024, Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week. This week features the world’s first cloned camel, the first Ford Mustang, the first album of the Rolling Stones, Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, English romantic potent Lord Byron and SpaceX’s Starship
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1024x768_france-antoine-dupont-and-fabian-galthie-oct-2023-jpg Fabien Galthie’s men went into the global tournament as one of the favourites but they were ousted in the last-eight. Les Bleus suffered a 29-28 defeat to the Springboks as they were eliminated at their home World Cup by the eventual champions. It was a similar story to 2019, ...
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Antoine Dupont still hurt by 'injustice' of World Cup loss to Springboks
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China’s New Aircraft Carrier Begins Catapult Testing Testing of the catapults on the Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian has begun. This is an important step forward in the construction of this ship, which is set to be the first carrier in the People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, that launches aircraft ...
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China's New Aircraft Carrier Begins Catapult Testing
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Aircraft Downed Inside Russia By Patriot System: Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force has now confirmed that a number of Russian aircraft shot down back in May over their own territory were indeed destroyed by a foreign-supplied Patriot air defense system. The possibility that Ukraine’s newly acquired Patriots may ...
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Aircraft Downed Inside Russia By Patriot System: Ukrainian Air Force
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Exiled Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov delivers a speech during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on April 20, 2022 in Brussels. Fedorov on Monday said Ukrainian partisans blew up a car with pro-Russian fighters inside over the weekend. A car with Chechen soldiers fighting ...
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Car With Pro-Russian Fighters Blown Up by Resistance: Exiled Mayor
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Springbok lock opts not to renew contract with URC team Rugby World Cup-winning lock RG Snyman has opted not to extend his stay at Munster beyond the current season. This week, it was revealed by Munster that Snyman would seek new horizons once his deal with the Irish Province expires. ...
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Springbok lock opts not to renew contract with URC team
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Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
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Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future
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Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
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Antoine Dupont STILL hurt by ‘injustice’ of Rugby World Cup loss to Springboks
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Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
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Rubber stamping NHI Bill will have damaging consequences for SA for generations
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Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
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After the Bell: SA’s NHI healthcare disaster starts right here
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Pravin Gordhan’s deathly legacy: A threat to SA’s economic future In the corridors of power, where decisions shape the destiny of nations, one man has emerged as front runner for the dubious honour of being the architect of South Africa’s economic chaos – Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, at ...
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Gupta-linked development land for sale
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OTHER NEWS
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