Unix Timestamp: 989366400
Wednesday, May 9. 2001, 12:00:00 AM UTC

The Estonian parliament ratifies the European constitution, making Estonia the fifteenth EU country to do so. //euobserver.com/9/21546 (EU Observer)

Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by a landmine placed under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial parade in Grozny.

A 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ends, when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries.

In Kaspiysk, Russia, a remote-control bomb explodes during a holiday parade, killing 43 and injuring at least 130.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Muhammad al-Madani, governor of Bethlehem, leaves the Church of the Nativity

Juan Carlos Wasmosy becomes the first democratically elected President of Paraguay in nearly 40 years.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted in New York

In South Korea, police battle antigovernment protestors in Seoul and two other cities.

Andrew Peacock deposes John Howard as Federal Opposition Leader of Australia.

A Soviet-made Il-62 airliner, operated by LOT Polish Airlines, crashes near the Kabacki forest in Poland, killing all 183 people on board.

In Rome, the corpse of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro is found in a red Renault 4.

An accident involving a tanker truck carrying anhydrous ammonia takes place in Houston, Texas, resulting in the deaths of 7 people.

U.S. President Gerald Ford signs the Federal Election Caign Act.

Ulrike Meinhof of the Red Army Faction is found hanged in an apparent suicide, in her Stuttgart-Stammheim prison cell.

In Washington, D.C., 100,000 people demonstrate against the Vietnam War.

The Italian liner T/S "Michelangelo" enters into service.

The pianist Vladimir Horowitz returned to stage after a 12 years absence performing a legendary concert in Carnegie Hall in New York.

West Germany and Israel establish diplomatic relations.

South Korean President Chung Hee Park reshuffles his Cabinet, after a series of student demonstrations against his efforts to restore diplomatic and trade relations with Japan.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces that it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making it the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.

Actor-singer Paul Robeson, whose passport has been reinstated, sings in a sold-out one-man recital at Carnegie Hall. The recital is such a success that Robeson gives another one at Carnegie Hall a few days later but, after this, Robeson is seldom seen in public in the United States again. His Carnegie Hall concerts are later released on records and on CD.

Manaslu, eighth highest mountain in the world, is first ascended.

West Germany joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

France agrees to the provisional independence of Cambodia with King Norodom Sihanouk.

Operation Greenhouse: The first thermonuclear weapon is tested on Enewetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, by the United States.

Rainier III of Monaco becomes Prince of Monaco, upon the death of his maternal grandfather Louis II.

Siam officially changes its French name to Thaïlande (English name to Thailand), having officially changed its Thai name to Prated Thai since 1939.

Israel is admitted to the United Nations as its 59th member.

The first V-2 rocket is successfully launched at the White Sands Missile Range.

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates, and is succeeded by his son Humbert II.

Nehru is elected leader of the Congress Party in India.

The German occupation of the Channel Islands ends with the liberation by British troops.

Alderney, an annex of the concentration c "Neuengamme", is liberated.

Hermann Göring is captured by the United States Army.thumb|right|alt=a black and white image of two Marines in their combat uniforms. One Marine is providing cover fire with his Tommy gun|M1 Thompson submachinegun as the other with a Browning Automatic Rifle, prepares to break cover to move to a different position. There are bare sticks and rocks on the ground.|Marines of 1st Marine Division fighting on Okinawa, May 1945.

The Soviet Union marks V-E Day.

Rev. W. V. Awdry's children's book "The Three Railway Engines", first of The Railway Series, is published in England.

General Alexander Löhr, Commander of German Army Group E near Topolšica, Slovenia, signs the capitulation of German occupation troops.

The Norwegian resistance movement in Oslo, Norway, arrests the traitor Vidkun Quisling.

The Red Army enters Prague.

Argentinian labour leader José Peter declares the "Federación Obrera de la Industria de la Carne" dissolved.

WWII: In the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol, Soviet troops completely drive out German forces, who had been ordered by Hitler to “fight to the last man.”ref name=ReferenceAYear by Year 1944 ndash History Channel International

May 12 ndash Japanese troops carry out the Changjiao massacre in Changjiao, Hunan, China.

WWII: The British House of Commons is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.

Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland, claiming to be on a peace mission.

WWII: The German submarine \'\'U-110\'\' is captured by the British Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine, which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.

WWII: The German submarine "U-110" is captured by the British Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine, which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.

Spain leaves the League of Nations.

Kaarel Eenpalu becomes prime minister of Estonia.

Italian East Africa is formed from the Italian territories of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland.

The Australian Parliament first convenes in Canberra.

In Belgium, a new electoral law introduces universal manhood suffrage and gives the franchise to certain classes of women.

The nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, is consecrated Archbishop by Pope Benedict XVL'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, 12/19 August 1998, page 9

WWI: The Nivelle Offensive is abandoned.

Three peasant children claim to see the Virgin Mary above a Holm Oak tree in Cova da Iria near Fátima, Portugal.

WWI ndash Second Battle of Artois: German and French forces fight to a standstill.

J.T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3,000 first-class wickets.

GWR 3440 City of Truro becomes the first railway locomotive to exceed 100 mph.

Edison's 1½ inch system of Kinetoscope is first demonstrated in public at the Brooklyn Institute.

"Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show" opens in London.

May 12 ndash Battle of Batoche: Canadian government forces inflict a decisive defeat on Métis rebels.

The first commercial horse drawn carriage debuts in the city of Bombay, plying two routes.

Danish-Prussian War (Second War of Schleswig) ndash Battle of Heligoland: the navy of Denmark and the allied navies of Austria and Prussia fought near the island of Heligoland with a tactical victory for Denmark. It was the last significant naval battle fought by squadrons of wooden ships and also the last one involving Denmark.

The American general John Sedgwick is shot dead during the Battle of Spotsylvania, shortly after he uttered the famous last words: "They couldn't hit an elephant from this distance!"

The U.S. Constitutional Union Party holds its convention and nominates John Bell for President of the United States.

End of the five balds dictatorship in Elony which later became the independence day.

Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom from the Tower of London. He is immediately caught because he is too drunk to run with the loot. He is later condemned to death and then mysteriously pardoned and exiled by King Charles II.

Samuel Pepys witnesses a Punch and Judy show in London (the first on record).

Battle of Auldearn: Scottish Covenanters are defeated by Montrose.

Sixteen-year-old Emperor Go-Mizunoo succeeds Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan.

\'Abd al-LatifMirza (a Timurid monarch) is assassinated.

King John I of Portugal and King Richard II of England ratify the Treaty of Windsor.

August ndash Louis X is crowned King of France at Reims.

Eudes IV succeeds Hugh V as Duke of Burgundy.

Council of Rheims.ref name=Fletcher Reconquista

Tintern Abbey is founded.

Alberich becomes Archdeacon of Reims.

Lincoln Cathedral is consecrated.

The Song Dynasty Chinese scientist and statesman Su Song publishes his "Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao", a treatise outlining the construction and operation of his complex astronomical clocktower built in Kaifeng, China. It also includes a celestial atlas of five star maps.

Kingdom of England annexes Cumbria from the celtic kingdom of Strathclyde.

High tides cause great flooding in England and Scotland. The Kentish lands of Earl Godwin inundated and are now known as the Goodwin Sands

The remains of Saint Nicholas are brought to Bari, Italy by local sailors.ref name=encyclopedia

Pope Victor III formally accepts elevation as the 158th pope.

Alexandria's patriarch Bishop Alexander dies and is succeeded by his deacon Athanasius.