ON THIS DAY
500 Jews of Nuremberg massacred during Black Death riots.
Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35 000 die.
Christopher Columbus is the first European to set foot on Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
English pirate Blackbeard (William Teach) ransacks the merchant sloop Margaret and keeps her captain, Henry Bostock, prisoner for eight hours before releasing him. Bostock later provides the first record of Blackbeard’s appearance, and the source for his name.
In London, auctioneer James Christie holds his first sale.
US President James Polk triggers the California Gold Rush by confirming the metal’s discovery.
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow is destroyed on orders from Joseph Stalin, so a grand Palace of the Soviets could be built. It never was, thanks to World War II. Rebuilt between 1995 and 2000, at 103m high, it is the tallest Orthodox church in the world.
The Pretoria City Hall is inaugurated. Georgy Zhukov launches a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army, driving them out of the Moscow.
Flight 19, the “Lost Squadron” of five torpedo bombers and 14 airmen, is lost east of Florida, US, in the supposed Bermuda Triangle.
A cold fog descends on London, combining with air pollution and kills at least 12 000 in the months that follow.
A bomb explosion shatters the Johannesburg office of the Department of Foreign Affairs. It is the 42nd attack by ANC saboteurs of the year.
Human remains found in 1991 are finally identified as those of Tsar Nicholas II. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela dies, aged 95. Born to the Thembu royal family, he spent 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor and Victor Verster, and had a vision and respect for human dignity that brought hope to a country ravaged by injustice and discrimination. He received more than 250 honours – including the Nobel Peace Prize. | ZIMBABWEAN President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said his government is crafting a law that compels business people who receive foreign currency allocation from the Treasury to charge their products in local currency.
Further, the government will revoke the licences of such businesspeople with immediate effect if they failed to comply, The Herald newspaper reported yesterday.
Addressing traditional chiefs during the opening of the Annual Chiefs Conference in Kadoma on Monday, Mnangagwa said it was important for the government to engage with business more often.
“We are crafting a law which ensures that all products purchased from outside the country using foreign currency from Treasury should not be charged in foreign currency,” he said. |