01|The Senate and the National Assembly of Pakistan unanimously approve a constitutional amendment, brought by the new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, denying the president the power to dismiss prime ministers and governments. The granting of this power was introduced in 1985 by General Zia-ul-Haq. Since then, every president has used it and, four elected prime ministers have been removed before the end of their term of office.|
01|King Hussein of Jordan arrives in Washington, D.C., U.S.A., for talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton. With increasing tension between Israelis and Palestinians, the Middle East peace process is on the verge of collapse, and King Hussein is hoping the U.S. will add its weight to attempts to rescue the negotiations.|
02|Russian and Belarusian presidents Yeltsin and Lukashenko sign an outline union treaty in Moscow, to create closer ties between the two countries. About 5,000 people demonstrate in Minsk, capital of Belarus, in protest at the treaty, fearing that it will lead to domination by Russia. Belarus became independent in 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up into separate national states.|
02|The Galileo spacecraft, which is observing the planet Jupiter, detects complex molecules containing carbon and nitrogen on the surface of Jupiter's largest moons, Ganymede and Callisto. The spacecraft uses infra-red spectrometry equipment to analyse the light reflected from the moons. Scientists analysing the data from Galileo say that the discovery of such molecules suggests the presence of life.|
03|Helmut Kohl, architect of the 1990 unification of East and West Germany, announces on his 67th birthday that he will run in 1998 for a fifth term as chancellor. The only person to hold the chancellery longer than Kohl, who has been in office for more than 14 years, was Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck united Germany in 1871 and remained in power for the next 19 years.|
03|The man who created the Godzilla film series dies 16 months after the giant lizard-like monster was killed off in the final episode. Japanese Tomoyuki Tanaka became famous in 1954 when he created Godzilla, a reptilian creature awakened from long slumber by hydrogen-bomb tests.|
04|Using genetic engineering techniques, Russian scientists produce a type of anthrax bacterium resistant to all known antibiotics. Anthrax is an extremely infectious disease of farm animals, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Normally, human beings can become infected only if they are exposed to already infected animals or animal products.|
04|Amnesty International, the human rights agency, urges countries to sign a United Nations motion to end capital punishment. Amnesty reports that, in 1996, executions worldwide reached 4,200. The countries with the highest rates of execution are China, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine.|
05|Poet Allen Ginsberg dies at the age of 70. Ginsberg was a founder of the beat movement, along with Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, and Gary Snyder. The movement rejected the rules of conventional society, producing a subculture which has influenced American mainstream culture since the 1950's. A fierce opponent of the Vietnam War, Ginsberg's angry verse spoke for a generation of young Americans.|
05|The Irish Republican Army (IRA) succeeds in stopping the 150th Grand National, one of the United Kingdom's classic horseraces. A bomb warning was given by telephone, and police made a thorough search of the course at Aintree, which had been cleared of spectators. Thousands of racegoers are planning to spend two nights in temporary accommodation in order to attend the race which will be run on Monday, April 7th.|
06|Algerian eyewitnesses report an outbreak of civilian murders carried out by Islamic militant groups, who have fought the government in a five year civil war. More than 90 civilians, according to unconfirmed reports, have been killed since April 3. Guerrillas, wielding chainsaws, beheaded 52 people in the town of Medea, south of the capital, Algiers.|
07|Government troops in Lubumbashi, Zaire, the country's second-largest city, mutiny and join armed rebels seeking to overthrow the government. The rebels are led by Laurent Kabila, who has waged civil war against President Mobutu Sese Seko since October 1996. Lubumbashi, the capital of Shaba province, is the centre of Zaire's rich copper and cobalt industry, one of President Mobutu's primary sources of personal wealth and power.|
07|Lord Gyllene, bred and reared in New Zealand, wins the 150th Grand National steeplechase by 25 lengths. The race, which should have taken place on Saturday, April 5th, was postponed following a bomb warning from the IRA (the Irish Republican Army). Police again search the 250-acre site using metal detectors, and the 25,000 racegoers are subject to a thorough search on entry to the grounds.|
08|Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis becomes the first jazz composer to win a Pulitzer prize. The award is for his three-hour oratorio about slavery, Blood on the Fields. Pulitzer prizes are awarded each year to those who have made outstanding contributions to music, drama, literature, and journalism. Marsalis is respected as a performer in the fields of both classical music and jazz.|
08|The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, rules out any compromise on the building of Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem, which is mostly inhabited by Arabs. Speaking in the U.S., Netanyahu said that Israel was acting within its rights and there will be no yielding to Arab pressure on the issue. U.S. President Bill Clinton--in his efforts to strike a balance between sustaining the peace process and supporting the interests of the politically powerful Jewish lobby in the U.S.--is reluctant to interfere in the matter.|
09|The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveals highly detailed photographs that suggest water may exist on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. The photos reveal long fracture lines and patterns resembling spiders' webs on the planet's surface, suggesting cracks across massive icefields. NASA scientists speculate that a thin crust of ice covers a global ocean on Europa and that heat generated by radioactive decay of elements in the moon's rocky core keep the ocean liquid. Some experts think that such an ocean could be full of different life forms.|
09| Marine engineers investigating the wreck of the liner Titanic, discover only six small holes in the hull, covering an area of no more 1.17 square metres. The ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912 on its maiden voyage, from Southampton, England, to New York City. It sank in 2 1/2 hours, and 1,517 passengers and crew died. Until now, it was believed that the ship must have sustained a 90 metres gash in order to have sunk so quickly.|
10|The Chinese government in Hong Kong announces that it will be banning some political parties, and restricting the people's right to demonstrate, thus reinstating the restrictions recently removed by the out-going British administration. The Chinese state their intentions to strike a balance between civil liberties and social stability, and personal rights and social obligations. But critics believe the proposals will weaken the recent Bill of Rights, which ensures that all laws have to meet human rights criteria.|
10|The UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, reports that the rule of law in Nigeria has almost completely collapsed. The now all-powerful military government ignores orders issued by the courts. About 70,000 people are believed to be held in detention without trial, many have died from the harsh conditions, and there have been reports of demonstrators being subjected to indiscriminate violence by the police.|
11|Laurent Kabila, the Zairian rebel leader, gives President Mobutu Sese Seko three days to resign. The rebels have captured many strategically important parts of Zaire since their campaign began last September. International pressure on Mobutu to step down is increasing. Previously, Mobutu has always been able to rely on American support, but the U.S. has now formally repudiated its connection with his government.|
11|India's coalition government, encompassing 13 political parties, led by Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, falls after 10 months in power. Gowda's defeat came after losing the backing of the powerful Congress-I Party.|
12|Angola marks the end of more than 30 years of civil war, with the creation of a government of national reconciliation. The initial conflict between the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) and the Portuguese government, ultimately resulted in independence in 1975. However, civil war flared between the MPLA and the united forces of two other guerrilla groups, the FNLA (Front for the Liberation of Angola) and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola). The United Nation's peacekeeping force has maintained a Peace Agreement since 1995.|
12|The Red River, flowing north into Canada's Hudson Bay watershed, rests at more than 6 metres above flood level at Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.A. Triggered by melting snow, the flooding is the worst this century in North Dakota, and snow in substantial amounts remains on the ground. Nearly 3 metres of snow fell on Fargo during the winter of 1996/1997.|
13|Twenty-one-year-old golfer, Tiger Woods, wins the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A., with a 72-hole score of 270, breaking the Masters record of 271 set by Jack Nicklaus in 1965. Woods is the youngest player to win the title.|
13|The Turin Shroud, believed by many to be the winding sheet wrapped around the body of Jesus Christ, is saved from a fire. The fire destroys Turin cathedral's Guarini chapel, built to house the Shroud in the 1600's. No one is injured, but the 500-year-old cathedral, which has been recently restored, is badly damaged.|
14|United States Attorney General Janet Reno ignores the demands of Republican leaders in Congress and refuses to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate President Bill Clinton's campaign financing. Reno states: "We have no specific, credible evidence that any White House official may have committed a federal crime in respect of any of these issues."|
14|President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire rejects the rebel leader Laurent Kabila's ultimatum to resign, issued on April 1st. Instead, Mobutu has offered to talk to the rebels. Diplomats say that he is playing for time and has no intention of resigning. Residents of Kinshasa fear a military display of force, and many are preparing to leave the city.|
15|Kodak introduce a new range of high-resolution digital cameras in the U.S. which represents an important advance in the market for filmless cameras. Instead of film, digital cameras contain memory that stores pictures electronically. They can later be printed out by a computer. The new models are much cheaper than previous digital cameras.|
15|A fire, fanned by high winds, rages through about 70,000 tents housing tens of thousands of people from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Thailand. The people had journeyed to Mecca for the hajj, the annual pilgrimage that is one of Islam's holiest rituals. The disaster is thought to have been started by gas cylinders, used for cooking, which exploded and set light to the highly flammable tents. At least 340 people die and more than 1,300 people are injured.|
16|Government investigators recommend that Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu be indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust. The Israeli minister of police alleges that, in January 1997, Netanyahu appointed a close political ally to the office of attorney general. The man was to arrange a plea bargain in a corruption trial for a key member of Netanyahu's coalition, but was driven from office in less than 48 hours by critics who claimed he lacked the necessary qualifications.|
17|An original copperplate of one of Rembrandt's most famous etchings is rediscovered. The plate, dating from the 1600's, is of Abraham Entertaining the Angels. It was found by a print specialist from Christie's, the art auctioneers. Liesbeth Heenk discovered the plate on the back of a painting by the artist Pieter Gysels, a contemporary of Rembrandt. Heenk said that it was a most important discovery, and the best example of a copperplate to survive to the modern day.|
17|Israel's longest-serving president, Chaim Herzog, dies in Tel Aviv aged 78. Born in Ireland, Herzog first went to Palestine in 1935. He was an intelligence officer in the British army in World War II (1939-1945) and returned to Palestine in 1947. He was made ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in 1975, where he opposed a motion that equated Zionism with racism. He was president of Israel from 1983 to 1993.|
18|France's biggest farmers' union sets up a crisis team to monitor crops throughout the country as fears grow of a prolonged drought. The union says that the situation is still reversible, but rainfall has been up to 50 per cent below normal in the north of France. Some French authorities have already curbed irrigation and in grain regions the price of wheat has risen.|
18|Scientists report that they have identified fragments of humanity's oldest known ancestor which has been named Morotopithecus bishopi. A scientist called Bishop discovered the fossilized remains in the Moroto region of Uganda 30 years ago. Improved dating techniques show the remains to be 20.6 million years old. This pushes the evidence of ape-human evolution back by at least 5 million years. One expert said that the creature probably lived in trees and resembled the orangutan of today.|
19|British scientists announce that 2 of Saturn's 18 satellites, Prometheus and Pandora, may exert a disturbing influence on one of Saturn's rings, constantly twisting the matter within it. The fact that one ring is braided and not disc-shaped like the other six has puzzled scientists since the space probes, Pioneer-Saturn and Voyager confirmed the existence of the planet's outer rings 17 years ago. Possible proof of this theory will have to wait until the U.S.-European space probe, Cassini, monitors the planet in the year 2004.|
19|India's United Front coalition government unanimously choose Inder Kumar Gujral to be prime minister in a new centre-left government. The move ends three weeks of political uncertainty. Gujral was foreign minister in the previous government. He is a scholar with great experience in foreign policy.|
20|The attorney general of Israel, Elyakim Rubinstein, announces that Israeli prosecutors will not bring charges against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for corruption. He notes that the Israeli police recommendation to indict the prime minister was based on insufficient evidence.|
20|An Anglo-Saxon grave is discovered during a metal detector survey in a quarry in northern England. The grave is that of a Saxon prince and contains a helmet, sword, and a bowl. The survey is subsidized by Pioneer Aggregates, an Australian company, which will also pay for conservation of the objects found.|
21|Hong Kong's Tsing-Ma suspension bridge, the world's second longest at 2,140 metres, was damaged by saboteurs a week before it was due to be officially opened. Cables along the two-tier bridge had been cut in 32 places.|
21|The World Bank forecasts that economic growth in Africa could rise by more than three per cent a year over the next 10 years. It reports that economic growth in half the sub-Saharan countries had increased by five per cent in the last 2 years. African countries are adopting policies demanded by international investors. These include trade liberalization, privatization, and removing restrictions on capital. However, Africa is still crippled by debts.|
22|Peruvian soldiers storm the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, Peru, and rescue all but one of the 72 hostages taken prisoner by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Army on Dec. 18, 1996. All 14 of the revolutionaries are killed in the assault, as are 2 soldiers and 1 hostage. During the four months of stalemate, the Marxist guerrillas attempted to obtain the release of jailed comrades. They released 418 of the original 490 people taken hostage during a party given by the ambassador in honour of the emperor of Japan.|
22|The Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, visits Moscow to help improve relations between Russia and China. The visit marks a historic change in relations between the two countries. Russia, unable to stop the expansion of NATO on its western borders, is looking to the east for support. Besides wanting increased economic contact, China is retaliating against Western criticism of its record on human rights.|
23|Denis Compton, one of English cricket's finest batsmen, dies aged 78. He became greatly admired after World War II (1939-1945) when, in the summer of 1947, he scored 3,816 first class runs--an average of 90.85 per innings. His fine career was later affected by a knee injury, sustained while playing professional football. Compton became a well-known cricket writer and commentator.|
23|Aid workers in Zaire report that thousands of Rwandan refugees have fled from the refugee camps. There are reports that Tutsi-dominated rebels fighting President Mobutu Sese Seko have killed many Hutu refugees. The Tutsis accuse the Hutus of genocide in Rwanda in 1994.|
24|Senior North Korean diplomats say that their government would join peace negotiations with the U.S., China, and South Korea only after three conditions were met. These are: U.S. diplomatic recognition, massive food aid, and an easing of trading sanctions. Preliminary discussions had previously broken off in New York after the North failed to give clear indications that it was ready to participate.|
24|At Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences in the United States, an international team of palaeontologists announce the recent discovery in China of an extraordinary trove of dinosaur fossils. Although little of the area has been excavated, the team has already unearthed unique finds, including the fossilized internal organs of dinosaurs and the fossil of a dinosaur containing a mammal it had just eaten. Scientists believe that the dinosaurs, as well as a primitive bird, mammals, insects, and plants, were killed in a volcanic eruption, which immediately buried the entire area in ash.|
25|A federal district judge in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.A., rules that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate tobacco as a drug. The case was the first test of the federal agency's 1996 assertion that nicotine is an addictive drug delivered in controlled doses by cigarettes, and its sale and advertisement, therefore, should be regulated.|
25|A train is blown up south of Algiers killing at least 21 people and injuring another 20. The attack happened in an area which has seen a spate of bloody massacres by Muslim rebels over the past few weeks.|
26|The Montana legislature in the United States, passes a law that allows judges to sentence sex offenders to regular injections of chemicals designed to reduce sexual drive. Such injections are currently given to sex offenders in some European countries and California in the U.S.A. The Montana law stipulates that judges may substitute injections for prison if the offender has committed a second sexual offence or a particularly heinous first offence. The bill, according to state legislators, will both reduce crime and provide considerable savings on prison incarcerations.|
26|Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori faces criticism of the way the siege of the Japanese ambassador's residence ended. There are reports that the guerrillas were executed after they had surrendered. Fujimori had previously been congratulated over his handling of the affair. The government has refused permission for relatives to view the bodies. Human rights groups say they will fight for the bodies to be exhumed and examined.|
27|An annual opinion poll reports that for the first time a majority, 51 per cent, of Israeli respondents favoured the establishment of a Palestinian state. The survey was conducted prior to the start of construction on a Jewish settlement on disputed land in southeastern Jerusalem, which began the latest crisis in the Middle East peace process.|
27|Hong Kong's Tsing-Ma road-rail suspension link, damaged by saboteurs a week ago, is officially opened by Lady Thatcher, former British prime minister. Chinese officials are not present at the ceremony. The bridge is built from 300,000 tons of steel and concrete, and supported by enough cable to encircle the earth four times.|
28|Astrophysicists announce at a meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A., that they have discovered a plume of antimatter streaming out as far as 3,500 light-years from the core of the Milky Way, the galaxy in which the earth is located. Antimatter consists of particles identical to particles of matter except they carry an electrical charge opposite to that of matter. When matter and antimatter meet, both are annihilated. The exact nature and cause of the plume, which Charles Dermer, of the Naval Research Laboratory, described as "a fountain of annihilating death from exploding stars," remains unknown.|
28|The release of 85 Moroccans held prisoner in the dispute over Western Sahara is announced by former U.S. Secretary of State, James Baker, now a UN special envoy to the region. A 15-year war between Morocco and Algeria-backed Polisario rebels for control of the mineral-rich area ended in 1994. But implementation of a UN peace plan has stalled over terms of a referendum on self-determination.|
29|In the U.S.A., Lori Fortier, a key witness for the prosecution of Timothy J. McVeigh, the man accused of bombing the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April 1995, testifies in federal court in Denver, Colorado, that McVeigh called the building "an easy target" and told how he planned to blow it up. Fortier says that the bombing was intended to kill federal agents who had been involved in the 1993 Branch Davidian confrontation in Waco, Texas.|
29|The first combined Russian-American space walk is completed successfully. Jerry Lineger and Vasiliy Tsibliev set up experimental equipment on the outside of the Mir space station, which has been in use for over ten years, more than twice its intended life. There are plans to build an international space station called Freedom, funded by several countries, to replace Mir but the schedule has been delayed because of Russia's economic problems.|
30|Fishing boats are seized by authorization of the United Kingdom, France, and New Zealand in an attempt to stop illegal fishing in Antarctic waters. Spanish and Norwegian signatories to an agreement protecting resources in the Antarctic, are using flag-of-convenience ships (ships flying the flags of other nations) to take fish from protected zones. In the current season, 40 ships have caught about 30,000 tons of toothfish. The scale of the fishing is seen as a threat to the Antarctic's ecosystem.|
30|A French naval ship carrying explosives accidentally blows up in the Atlantic. The explosives, thought to be a stock of aging hand grenades, were due to be destroyed at sea. Two people are killed and three are reported missing. The rest of those rescued are taken to hospital, some seriously injured. The cause of the blast is not known. The French navy has carried out several similar missions successfully.|
