Terrorism and conflict cast a heavy shadow on this week’s headlines, from bomb attacks at the Atlanta Olympics and an Israeli embassy in London to escalating tragedy in Gaza. US politics takes centre stage as John Kerry launches his 2004 presidential bid, while a decade later Republican candidate Donald Trump is rocked by accusations of encouraging Russian espionage. Yet moments of hope and triumph break through as the IRA formally ends its 36-year armed campaign and London kicks off the 2012 Olympics – all captured in The Independent archive.
27 July 1987 – Greece declares emergency amid deadly heatwave
A national state of emergency is declared in Greece after record-breaking temperatures ruin crops and prompt mass evacuations to the coast over a single weekend. Though initial reports cited hundreds of casualties, the unprecedented 1987 heatwave ultimately claimed over 1,000 lives, foreshadowing the extreme weather sweeping across Europe today.
27 July 1994 – Israeli embassy bombed in London
A massive car bomb rips through the Israeli embassy in London, injuring 14 people and “embarrassing” the British government over failures in their security measures. The blast was followed just hours later by a second car bomb outside a Jewish charity in North London, eventually leading to the controversial 1996 convictions of two Palestinian students for their roles in the attacks.
28 July 1996 – Deadly bomb explodes at the Atlanta Olympics
A terrorist pipe bomb detonates at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, killing two people and injuring over 100 more in the worst Olympic attack since Munich in 1972. The ensuing investigation infamously derailed the life of the security guard Richard Jewell, who discovered the bomb and was subsequently wrongly viewed as a suspect. The attack was later traced to right-wing extremist Eric Rudolph, who had evaded capture for several years.
31 July 2004 – John Kerry launches bid for the White House
Opening his pivotal convention speech with a salute and the words “reporting for duty”, John Kerry formally accepts the Democratic nomination, promising to end American isolationism and restore the nation's global standing. However, his bid to unseat George W Bush ultimately failed that November, as the incumbent secured a second term in a bitterly fought, highly polarised wartime election.
29 July 2005 – IRA ends 36-year campaign
In a landmark statement, the Provisional IRA formally orders an end to its 36-year armed campaign, instructing all units to end armed activity and commit strictly to peaceful political programmes. The historic declaration led to the final, verified decommissioning of all remaining IRA weapons just months later.
28 July 2012 – ‘London sets the world alight’ for 2012 Games
London officially welcomes the Olympics with a highly praised opening ceremony directed by filmmaker Danny Boyle, featuring a theatrical journey through British history. The successful launch kicked off a major summer of sport that would eventually see Team GB secure their best medal performance since 1908.
30 July 2014 – ‘Darkest day’ in Gaza as violence escalates
Over 100 Palestinians are killed in a single day as heavy Israeli bombardment hits Gaza, shattering hopes for a ceasefire and severely damaging local infrastructure. The 50-day conflict continued for another month before an open-ended truce was reached in late August, by which time more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 people on the Israeli side had been killed.
28 July 2016 – Trump calls on Russia to hack Clinton's emails
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump faces fierce criticism after publicly calling on Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s missing emails amid an ongoing investigation into a cyber attack on the Democrats. He went on to win the presidency that November, triggering the years-long Mueller investigation, which confirmed sweeping Russian election interference but established no criminal conspiracy within the Trump campaign.