Today in History-July 14
Thousands of revellers filled the streets1989: Paris in 200-year-old revolutionary fervour
England have
About 500 people have been involved in scuffles in the Place de la Bastille
in Paris.
Hundreds of thousands of revellers took to the streets of the French
capital last night to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the storming of the
Bastille.
Most people enjoyed the carnival atmosphere in the city but a group of
trouble-makers fought amongst themselves, harassed foreign TV crews and threw
stones at the police as they tried to restore order.
Last night was the official opening of the concert hall, Opera Bastille,
which has been built on the site of the Bastille prison - where the French
Revolution began in 1789.
Celebrations carried on into the small hours of this morning in the biggest
street party since France was liberated after World War II.
There was traffic chaos as people danced in the streets, wearing the red,
white and blue of the revolutionary tricolour and letting off fireworks.
As well as the traditional military march down the Champs Elysees this
morning, the bicentennial anniversary has been marked by a spectacular parade of
dancers, musicians and floats from around the world this evening.
Heads of state from 40 countries and a global television audience of 500m
watched the procession - devised and organised by Jean-Paul Goude - down the
Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde.
Costing ?m, the Marseillaise procession was based on the theme of the
rights of Man and world music. It culminated in a powerfulrenditionof the French
national anthem - also called the Marseillaise - by opera singer Jesse
Norman.
Some world leaders were in the city for the G7 World Economic Summit opened
by President Mitterand at the Louvre pyramid in the afternoon.
King Faisal II of Iraq is believed to have been killed during the coup
1958: Coup in Iraq sparks jitters in Middle East
Artificially 1969:
The A group of Iraqi army officers have staged a coup in Iraq and
overthrown the monarchy.
Baghdad Radio announced the Army has liberated the Iraqi people from
domination by a corrupt group put in power by "imperialism".
From now on Iraq would be a republic that would "maintain ties with other
Arab countries". It said some 12,000 Iraqi troops based in neighbouring Jordan
have been ordered to return.
Major-General Abdul Karim el Qasim is Iraq's new prime minister, defence
minister and commander-in-chief.
Baghdad Radio also announced that Crown Prince Abdul Illah and Nuri es
Said, prime minister of the Iraq-Jordan Federation, had been assassinated.
King Faisal reported killed
It said the body of the Crown Prince, the powerful uncle of 23-year-old
King Faisal, was hanging outside the Defence Ministry for all to see.
Reports from the US Embassy in Baghdad say the British embassy has been
ransacked and set on fire. The ambassador, Sir Michael Wright, and his wife were
held at the embassy until late this afternoon when they were released. They are
now in a Baghdad hotel.
Unconfirmed reports suggest King Faisal himself has also been killed.
His cousin, King Hussein of Jordan, has declared himself head of the Arab
Federation - the five-month alliance between Iraq and Jordan - in the "absence"
of King Faisal.
In a broadcast to his subjects, King Hussein condemned the coup as the work
of outsiders.
While Iraqis are celebrating on the streets of the capital, Baghdad, the
news is a cause for concern for western powers worried about their oil interests
and instability in the region.
Mixed reaction in Arab world
The insurrection was probably inspired by a similar uprising staged in
Egypt by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser six years ago. In February this year he
formed a political union between Egypt and Syria known as the United Arab
Republic (UAR).
Radio stations in the UAR are naturally delighted by news of the Iraq
coup.
But leaders of Jordan and Lebanon fear it might inspire Arab nationalist
rebellions in their own states and have appealed to Britain and the United
States to send troops to their countries.
The US President Dwight D Eisenhower is said to be "extremely disturbed" by
the Iraqi revolt and has called of an emergency session of the United Nations
Security Council.
Officials in Washington fear the Iraqi coup will mean the end of the
Baghdad Pact whose members include Turkey, Persia and Pakistan. It was intended
to stem the influence of the Soviet Union in the region.
There are fears the Iraq coup will have a domino effect and that the
pro-Western oil regimes of Kuwait, Bahrain and the Trucial States may fall to
Arab nationalists.
Vocabulary:
rendition :a performance of a musical or dramatic work(表演;演唱)
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