Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1789, In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later. In 1916, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ukrainian-Russian soldier and sniper (died 1974) was born. In 1948, Elias Khoury, Lebanese intellectual, playwright and novelist (died 2024) was born. In 1948, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion orders the expulsion of Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramla. In 1961, ČSA Flight 511 crashes at Casablanca-Anfa Airport in Morocco, killing 72. In 1967, Riots begin in Newark, New Jersey. In 1998, The Ulster Volunteer Force attacked a house in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a petrol bomb, killing the Quinn brothers. In 2006, The 2006 Lebanon War begins. In 2007, U.S. Army Apache helicopters engage in airstrikes against armed insurgents in Baghdad, Iraq, where civilians are killed; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet. In 2012, Syrian Civil War: Government forces target the homes of rebels and activists in Tremseh and kill anywhere between 68 and 150 people. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.