This day in history

Islamic Jihad terrorists release British journalist John McCarthy five years and three months after being kidnapped in Beirut. He had been held hostage since 17 April, 1986, a total of 1,943 days.
 

In Burma, the 8888 Uprising begins - a national movement for democracy. It is later brutally suppressed in a military coup in September.   

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is established.

In England, a gang of 15 men steal more than £2.6 million in the Great Train Robbery at Sears Crossing, Buckinghamshire, stopping and robbing a Royal Mail train travelling between Glasgow and London.

President Harry S. Truman signs the United Nations Charter and the United States becomes the first nation to complete the ratification process and join the new international organisation.

The Soviet Union officially declares war on Japan, invading Japanese-occupied Manchuria in north eastern China.

In Austria, forced labourers start to construct Mauthausen concentration camp.

Start of the Battle of Amiens - Allied troops advance against 20 German divisions and take 16,000 prisoners within 2 hours.