Today in News History

On June 19, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1903, Benito Mussolini, at the time a radical Socialist, is arrested by Bern police for advocating a violent general strike. In 1917, Joshua Nkomo, Zimbabwean guerrilla leader and politician, Vice President of Zimbabwe (died 1999) was born. In 1947, Pan Am Flight 121 crashes in the Syrian Desert near Mayadin, Syria, killing 15 and injuring 21. In 1957, Subcomandante Marcos, Mexican insurgent and EZLN leader was born. In 1985, Members of the Revolutionary Party of Central American Workers, dressed as Salvadoran soldiers, attack the Zona Rosa area of San Salvador. In 1987, Basque separatist group ETA commits one of its most violent attacks, in which a bomb is set off in a supermarket, Hipercor, killing 21 and injuring 45. In 1987, Aeroflot Flight N-528 crashes at Berdiansk Airport in present-day Ukraine, killing eight people. In 2009, Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police officers break out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef. In 2009, War in North-West Pakistan: The Pakistani Armed Forces open Operation Rah-e-Nijat against the Taliban and other Islamist rebels in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. In 2017, Otto Warmbier, American college student detained in North Korea (born 1994) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.