Unix Timestamp: 1208390400
Thursday, April 17. 2008, 12:00:00 AM UTC

The Fifth Summit of the Americas begins in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. //www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=businessNewsID=3064 ("Barbados Advocate")

Thirty-four heads of state and government meet in Port of Spain, Trinidad for the 5th Summit of the Americas.

Twelve holidaymakers are killed in southern Switzerland when a bus carrying 27 people plunges

Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.

The Stevens Report concludes that members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British Army cooperated with the Ulster Defence Association in the killings of Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces that Australian forces in Operation Falconer will completely pull out by June.

Sir John Stevens releases the Stevens Report, which states that the police and other security services in Northern Ireland colluded in the murders of many innocent people, including Pat Finucane and Francisco Notarantonio, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Four Canadian infantrymen are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from 2 US F-16s.

Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin becomes Raja of Perlis.

Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin becomes Raja of Perlis.

A nail bomb, planted by David Copeland, explodes in the middle of a busy market in Brixton, South London.

18-year-old student Stephen Lawrence is stabbed to death in London, England the attack is believed to have been racially motivated.

South Dakota governor George Mickelson and seven others are killed when a state-owned aircraft crashes near Dubuque, Iowa.

The World Health Organization declares tuberculosis a Global Emergency.

Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.

Laurence Powell and Stacey Koon are found guilty in the second Rodney King trial.

In Washington, DC, the Holocaust Memorial Museum is dedicated.

A 51-day stand-off at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ends with a fire that kills 76 people, including David Koresh.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever, at 3,004.46.

Trisha Meili is attacked while jogging in New York City's Central Park as her identity remains secret for years, she becomes known as the Central Park Jogger.

Poland, Solidarity was again legalized and allowed to participate in semi-free elections on June 4.

A gun turret explodes on the U.S. battleship "Iowa", killing 47 crew members.

WPCYvonne Fletcher is shot and killed by a secluded gunman leading to a police siege of the Libyan Embassy in London.

By Proclamation of the Queen of Canada on Parliament Hill, Canadapatriates its constitution, gaining full political independence from the United Kingdom included is the country's first entrenchedbill of rights.

Schoolchildren in the Central African Empire are arrested (and around 100 killed) for protesting against compulsory school uniforms. An African judicial commission later determines that Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa almost certainly took part in the massacre.

Following several weeks of successful fighting the Khmer Republic surrenders there fore the Cambodian Civil War ends, in which the Communist party of the Khmer Rouge guerilla forces capture Phnom Penh, prompting a forcible mass evacuation of the city and starting off the infamous genocide.

The first Boston Marathon in which women are officially allowed to compete.

Apollo program: "Apollo 13" splashes down safely in the Pacific.

The first SDS march against the Vietnam War draws 25,000 protestors to Washington, DC.

Russwood Park, a baseball stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, burns to the ground from a fire shortly after a Chicago White Sox versus Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball game.

King Baudouin of Belgium officially opens the World Fair in Brussels, also known as Expo '58. The Atomium forms the centrepiece.

King Baudouin of Belgium officially opens the World Fair in Brussels, also known as Expo '58. The Atomium forms the centrepiece.

Suspected serial killerJohn Bodkin Adams is found not guilty of murder at the Old Bailey.

Elizabeth II inaugurates Chew Valley Lake.

Imre Nagy, the communist Premier of Hungary, is ousted for being too moderate.

Mickey Mantle hits a 565 foot (172 m) home run at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. Mantle's home run is believed to be the longest home run in baseball history by many historians.

The inaugural session of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) occurs.

The League of Nations, in its last meeting, transfers its mission to the United Nations and disbands itself.

The United States recognizes Josip Broz Tito's government in Yugoslavia.

Syria's independence from France is officially recognized.

Brazilian forces liberate the town of Montese, Italy, from German forces.

WWII: Henri Giraud the French commander captured in 1940, escapes from Königstein Fortress.

WWII: The Yugoslav Royal Army capitulates.

The animated short "Porky\\'s Duck Hunt", directed by Tex Avery for the Looney Tunes series, featuring the debut of Daffy Duck, is released.

The animated short "Porky's Duck Hunt", directed by Tex Avery for the Looney Tunes series, featuring the debut of Daffy Duck, is released.

Sun Myung Moon claims to have a revelation from Jesus telling him to complete his mission from almost 2,000 years ago.

The BBC Radio Service from London, somewhat infamously, reports on this day that There is no news.

The Chittagong Rebellion begins in India with the Chittagong armoury raid.

Neoprene is invented.

The Aurora, Texas UFO incident.

The Treaty of Shimonoseki is signed between China and Japan. This marks the end of the first Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of Fengtien province, Taiwan, and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.ref name=shim

Riots of Mons during the Belgian general strike of 1893, The day after, Belgian parliament approved Universal suffrage.

May ndash The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland is formed.

Alpha Xi Delta founded

May 2 ndash The Grierson\\'s Raid: Union cavalrymen are ambushed while crossing the Tickfaw river in Mississippi.

May 2 ndash The Grierson's Raid: Union cavalrymen are ambushed while crossing the Tickfaw river in Mississippi.

American Civil War: The state of Virginia secedes from the Union.

The Chicago Historical Society museum is established at 1601 N. Clark Street, Chicago.

Charles X of France recognizes Haiti, 21 years after it expelled the French following the successful Haitian Revolution, and demands the payment of 150 million gold francs, 30 million of which Haiti must finance through France itself, as down payment.

Sir Ralph Abercromby unsuccessfully invades San Juan, Puerto Rico in what will be one of the largest British attacks on Spanish territories in the western hemisphere, and one of the worst defeats of the English navy for years to come.

The first avowedly Unitarian congregation, Essex Street Chapel, is founded in London by Theophilus Lindsey.

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Austria.

The Turks declare war against Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.

The Banat Rebellion of Serbs against Ottoman rule ends with the public burning of Saint Sava's bones in Belgrade, Serbia.

Nine Years\\' War: In Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell form an alliance to try to overthrow English domination.ref name=Cassell's Chronology

Nine Years' War: In Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell form an alliance to try to overthrow English domination.ref name=Cassell's Chronology

Saint Hyacinth is canonized.

After 18 months of siege, the Republic of Siena surrenders to the Florentine–Imperial army.

da Verrazzano's expedition makes the first European entry into New York Bay and sights the island of Manhattan.

The Capitulations of Santa Fe were signed.

Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, opens a council at Osney.

Tusculum is destroyed by the army of the Commune of Rome. Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur (2010) "L'autre Rome. Une histoire des Romains à l'époque communale (XIIe-XIVe siècle)." Paris: Tallandier. pp.316.

Marcus Vettius Bolanus becomes the new governor of Britain and faced a second insurrection of Venutius, king of the Brigantes.

After the Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes emperor.