David A Broad
A personal story
More than 40 years, told day by day
The first genetically modified, or GM, food went on sale in British supermarkets.
Genetically modified tomato puree, which will be available in Safeway and Sainsbury stores, has been produced from fruit which has had the rotting gene removed. These tomatoes were engineered to ripen more slowly and remain firmer. They were introduced by Sainsbury's and Safeway.
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The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress. It was not until April 2019, that the Digital Economy Act 2017, more commonly known as ‘Porn Law’ was enforced in the UK
The U.S. Congress passed the Communications Decency Act (CDA) in 1996, primarily to address concerns about minors' access to pornography online.
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The snow blizzard this month was one of the most devastating winter storms, causing more than 150 deaths. This as the last nuclear test explosion by France took place in the South Pacific.
Significant political developments dominated the month. In France François Mitterrand died in Paris at the age of 79 as the last nuclear test explosion by France was conducted at the Moruroa and Fangataufa Atoll test site in the South Pacific.
Also in Europe, the Czech Republic applied for membership of the European Union and Andreas Papandreou, the long-serving Prime Minister of Greece, officially resigned from his position due to significant health complications.
In the Middle East, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt appointed a new government in response to widespread allegations of corruption surrounding the parliamentary elections held in late 1995. Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
This as Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as King Hussein of Jordan visits their country. Yasser Arafat was re-elected as the president of the Palestinian Authority, solidifying his leadership role in Palestinian politics during a critical period of the Middle East peace process.
Elswhere, Józef Oleksy, the Polish Prime Minister, resigned from his position following serious accusations of spying for Moscow during a sensitive period in Poland's post-Communist transition.
Fifty people died and many more were injured in a suicide bombing in Sri Lanka by separatist Tamil Tigers, US peacekeepers poured into Bosnia, then Russian troops joined then in Bosnia as part of a joint operation with the US.
As mobile technology advanced, Motorola introduced the StarTAC, the first clamshell flip cell phone. Space Shuttle STS 72 (Endeavour 10), successfully launched into space.
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Commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet Scott Redd states that Iran test-fired a new anti-ship missile near the Strait of Hormuz
Vice Admiral Scott Redd, commander of the U S Fifth Fleet based in the Persian Gulf, stated that Iran test-fired a new anti-ship missile near the Strait of Hormuz on January 6th.
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On this day, La Fenice, Venice's world famous opera house, was destroyed by fire.
It was the last day of Test cricket for Australian cricketer David Boon and the 6,138th performance of 'Cats' took place in London.
La Fenice, the opera house in Venice, was destroyed by fire on this day in 1996. It was the third time a theatre had been burnt down in Venice and it took nearly eight years to rebuild.
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Becker's Last Grand Slam Title.
Australian Open Men's Tennis: Boris Becker of Germany won his 6th and last career Grand Slam title; beating American Michael Chang 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
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