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1994 Heathrow Mortar Attacks
The 1994 Heathrow mortar attacks were a series of homemade mortar bomb attacks targeted at Heathrow Airport carried out by the Provisional IRA. Over a five-day period, Heathrow was targeted three times (9, 11, and 13 March) by the IRA, which fired 12 mortar rounds. Heathrow was a symbolic target due to its importance to the United Kingdom's economy, and much disruption was caused when areas of the airport were closed over the period due to the IRA attacks. The gravity of the incident was heightened by the fact that Queen Elizabeth II was being flown back to Heathrow by the RAF on 10 March. Background The Provisional IRA had first attacked Great Britain in March 1973 with car bombs in London which injured over 200 people. Beginning in October 1974 the IRA launched a sustained bombing campaign in England which lasted until December 1975 when the IRA unit responsible for the campaign was caught after a 6-day siege. Thereafter the IRA launched more sporadic but more spectacul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe. Sometimes described as an Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric or Irregular warfare, irregular war or a low-intensity conflict, the Troubles were a political and nationalistic struggle fueled by historical events, with a strong Ethnic conflict, ethnic and sectarian dimension, fought over the Partition of Ireland, status of Northern Ireland. Unionism in Ireland, Unionists and Ulster loyalism, loyalists, who for Plantation of Ulster, historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Downing Street Mortar Attack
The Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 7 February 1991. The IRA launched three homemade mortar shells at 10 Downing Street, London, the headquarters of the British government, in an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister John Major and his war cabinet, who were meeting to discuss the Gulf War. One of the 140 pound (64 kg) mortar shells exploded in the back garden of Number 10, a few yards from the Cabinet Office. Due to bomb-resistant windows, none of the cabinet were hurt, though four other people received minor injuries, including two Metropolitan Police officers. The other two shells overshot Downing Street and landed on a green nearby. Background During the Troubles, as part of its armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) repeatedly used homemade mortars against targets in Northern Ireland. The most notable occasion was the 1985 Newry mortar attac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 Docklands Bombing
The London Docklands bombing (also known as the South Quay bombing or erroneously referred to as the Canary Wharf bombing) occurred on 9 February 1996, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb in South Quay (which is outside Canary Wharf). The blast killed two people and devastated a wide area, causing an estimated £150million worth of damage. The IRA had sent warnings 90 minutes beforehand, but the area was not fully evacuated. As well as the two people who were killed, more than 100 were injured, some permanently. The attack marked an end to the IRA's seventeen-month ceasefire, and came just over an hour after its declaration to Irish broadcaster RTÉ. The IRA agreed to the ceasefire in August 1994 on the understanding that Sinn Féin would be allowed to take part in peace negotiations, but resumed its campaign with the Docklands bombing when the British government demanded a full IRA disarmament as a precondition for talks. After th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Reynolds
Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. He held various cabinet positions between 1979 and 1991, including Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Longford–Roscommon from 1977 to 1992, and for Longford–Westmeath from 1992 to 2002. During his first term as Taoiseach, Reynolds led a Fianna Fáil– Progressive Democrats coalition. In his second term, he headed a coalition between Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party. Early life, education and personal life Albert Martin Reynolds was born on 3 November 1932 in Kilglas, near Roosky, on the County Roscommon– Leitrim border. His father was a carpenter and coachbuilder. Reynolds's political opponents often referred to him as a ' country bumpkin' due to his background. In the 1950s, he attended Summerhill College, Sligo, and found work as a clerk with CIÉ, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office-holder must retain the support of a majority in the Dáil to remain in office. The Irish language, Irish word ''Wiktionary:taoiseach, taoiseach'' means "chief" or "leader", and was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title of the "head of the Government or Prime Minister". It is the official title of the head of government in both English and Irish, and is not used for the prime ministers of other countries, who are instead referred to in Irish by the generic term . The phrase ''an Taoiseach'' is sometimes used in an otherwise English-language context, and means the same as "the Taoiseach". The incumbent Taoiseach is Micheál Martin, Teachta Dála, TD, leader of Fianna Fáil, who took office on 23 Janu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Downing Street Declaration
The Downing Street Declaration was a joint declaration issued on 15 December 1993 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, and the Irish Taoiseach ( English: Prime Minister), Albert Reynolds, at the British Prime Minister's office in 10 Downing Street. The declaration affirmed both the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination, and that Northern Ireland would be transferred to the Republic of Ireland from the United Kingdom only if a majority of its population was in favour of such a move. It also included, as part of the prospective of the so-called "Irish dimension", the principle of consent that the people of the island of Ireland had the exclusive right to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent. The latter statement, which later would become one of the points of the Good Friday Agreement, was key to produce a positive change of attitude by the republicans towards a negotiated settlement. The joint declaration also pledged the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only the online edition. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. ''The Independent'' won the Brand of the Year Award in The Drum Awards for Online Media 2023. History 1980s Launched in 1986, the first issue of ''The Independent'' was published on 7 October in broadsheet format.Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p. 330. It was produced by Newspaper Publishing plc and created by Andreas Whittam Smith, Stephen Glover and Matthew Symonds. All three partners were former journalists at ''The Daily Telegraph'' who had left the paper towards the end of Lord Hartwell' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1993 Bishopsgate Bombing
The Bishopsgate bombing occurred on 24 April 1993, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb on Bishopsgate, a major thoroughfare in London's financial district, the City of London. Telephoned warnings were sent about an hour beforehand, but a news photographer was killed in the blast and 44 people were injured, with fatalities minimised due to its occurrence on a Saturday. The blast destroyed the nearby St Ethelburga's church and wrecked Liverpool Street station and the NatWest Tower. As a result of the bombing, which happened just over a year after the bombing of the nearby Baltic Exchange, a " ring of steel" was implemented to protect the City, and many firms introduced disaster recovery plans in case of further attacks or similar disasters. million (equivalent to £ million in ) was spent on repairing damage. In 1994 detectives believed they knew the identities of the IRA bombers, but lacked sufficient evidence to arrest th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pound Sterling
Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling. Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. In 2022, it was the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen. Together with those three currencies and the renminbi, it forms the basket of currencies that calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights. As of late 2022, sterling is also the fourth most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The Bank of England is the central bank for sterling, issuing its own banknotes and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling banknotes issu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltic Exchange (building)
The Baltic Exchange was an important listed building and historic landmark at 24–28 St Mary Axe in the City of London, occupied by the Baltic Exchange, a market for shipping, marine insurance, and information on maritime transportation. The building was known to some British architectural historians for its cathedral-like trading hall and the Baltic Exchange Memorial Glass, a stained glass war memorial. It was severely damaged by an IRA bombing in 1992 and between 1995 and 1998 was demolished. The site is now occupied by 30 St Mary Axe ("The Gherkin"); the stained glass survived and can be seen at the National Maritime Museum. Construction The historic building was designed by Smith and Wimble and completed by George Trollope & Sons in 1903: it was subsequently listed as a Grade II* listed building. Bombing of the exchange building On 10 April 1992 at 9:20 pm, the façade of the Exchange's offices at 24–28 St Mary Axe was partially demolished, and the rest of the bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltic Exchange Bombing
The Baltic Exchange bombing was an attack by the Provisional IRA on the City of London, Britain's financial centre, on 10 April 1992, the day after the General Election which re-elected John Major from the Conservative Party as Prime Minister. The one-ton bomb – concealed in a van and consisting of a fertiliser device wrapped with a detonation cord made from of semtex – was the biggest bomb detonated on mainland Britain since World War II. The bombing killed three people, injured 91 others, and severely damaged the Baltic Exchange and its surroundings. Background Since the Provisional Irish Republican Army's campaign in the early 1970s, many commercial targets were attacked in England which would cause economic damage and severe disruption. Since 1988, Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin and John Hume of the Social Democratic and Labour Party had been engaged in private dialogue to create a broad Irish nationalist coalition. British Prime Minister John Major had refused to openly ent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf War
, combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96-10/pdf/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96-10.pdf , strength2 = 1,000,000+ soldiers (~600,000 in Kuwait)5,500 tanks700+ aircraft3,000 artillery systems , casualties1 = Total:13,488 Coalition:292 killed (147 killed by enemy action, 145 non-hostile deaths)776 wounded (467 wounded in action)31 tanks destroyed/disabled28 Bradley IFVs destroyed/damaged1 M113 APC destroyed2 British Warrior APCs destroyed1 artillery piece destroyed75 aircraft destroyedKuwait:420 killed 12,000 captured ≈200 tanks destroyed/captured 850+ other armored vehicles destroyed/captured 57 aircraft lost 8 aircraft captured (Mirage F1s) 17 ships sunk, 6 captured. Acig.org. Retrieved on 12 June 2011 , casualties2 = Total:175,000–300,000+ Iraqi:20,000–50,000 killed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
