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On this day in 2023

On this day in 2022

• EVENTS
• Revival of "Cabaret" starring Eddie Redmayne wins best musical at UK's Olivier Awards, "Life of Pi" wins best play.
• TV SERIES
• 61st Street: Season 1 is released. Public Defender Franklin Roberts (Courtney B. Vance) takes up the case of Moses Johnson (Tosin Cole), a Chicago high school track star accused of being involved the death of an officer during a drug bust in his neighborhood.[Also airs on ALLBLK]
• POLITICS
• Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan removed from power after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament.
• SPORTS
• John Drew, American basketball small forward (NBA All-Star 1976,80; Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz), who died from bone cancer at 67.

On this day in 2021

• EVENTS
• China orders Alibaba pay a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) after anti-trust regulations say it has been acting as a monopoly.

On this day in 2020

• DEATHS
• Frits Flinkevleugel, Dutch soccer defender (11 caps; DWS, FC Amsterdam), who died at 80.
• Pete Retzlaff, American NFL halfback, tight-end (Pro Bowl 1958,60,63–65; First-team All-Pro 1958,65) and general manager (Philadelphia Eagles), who died at 88.
• Tom Webster, Canadian ice hockey right wing (Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings) and coach (NY Rangers, LA Kings), who died of brain cancer at 71.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Stray Dolls is released. Leaving India behind to break with a life of petty crime, Riz (Geetanjali Thapa) arrives stateside and gets a housekeeping job at the decidedly landlocked Tides Plaza Motel. Its manager Una (Cynthia Nixon) houses and employs several other young people in dire straits, including Dallas (Olivia DeJonge), Riz’s new roommate. At first antagonistic, the girls soon realize that their opposite personalities complement each other. Dallas is a bit of a wild card, hooking up with the motel's resident drug dealer - and Una's son - Jimmy (Robert Aramayo), whereas Riz is guarded but stolid, reluctant to take any route forward that isn’t entirely legal. But when Riz is forced to steal from one of the motel rooms, she inadvertently sets off a series of violent events and becomes entangled in a web of crime. Desperate for agency, Riz and Dallas are forced to take matters into their own hands.
• The Main Event is released. When 11-year-old Leo Thompson (Seth Carr) discovers a magical wrestling mask that grants him super strength, he uses it to enter a WWE competition. With the support of his grandmother (Tichina Arnold), Leo will do whatever it takes to achieve his dream of becoming a WWE Superstar. Can one kid win it all, in the face of epic challengers in the ring? [Netflix]
• Sea Fever is released. Siobhán's a marine biology student who prefers spending her days alone in a lab. She has to endure a week on a ragged fishing trawler, where she’s miserably at odds with the close-knit crew. But out in the deep Atlantic, an unfathomable life form ensnares the boat. When members of the crew succumb to a strange infection, Siobhán must overcome her alienation and anxiety to win the crew’s trust, before everyone is lost.
• MOVIES: PG
• Tigertail is released. Pin-Jui (Hong-Chi Lee) is a free-spirited yet impoverished young Taiwanese factory worker, who makes the difficult decision to leave his homeland — and the woman he loves — behind in order to seek better opportunities in America. But years of monotonous work and an arranged marriage devoid of love or compassion leave an older Pin-Jui (Tzi Ma) a shadow of his former self. Unable to sympathize with his daughter Angela (Christine Ko) and at risk of living out his retirement in solitude, Pin-Jui must reconnect with his past in order to finally build the life he once dreamed of having.
• Trolls World Tour is released. Poppy and Branch discover that they are but one of six different Troll tribes scattered over six different lands devoted to six different kinds of music: Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, Pop and Rock. Their world is about to get a lot bigger and a whole lot louder. A member of hard-rock royalty, Queen Barb, aided by her father King Thrash, wants to destroy all other kinds of music to let rock reign supreme. With the fate of the world at stake, Poppy and Branch, along with their friends, set out to visit all the other lands to unify the Trolls in harmony against Barb, who's looking to upstage them all.
• MOVIES: PG13
• The Lost Husband is released. After the sudden death of her husband, city-girl Libby (Leslie Bibb) is out of options. A job on her estranged Aunt's goat farm isn't ideal, but as Libby gets to know the residents of the small town, including a gruff farm manager with a tragic past, she starts to love the country life.
• MOVIES: R
• We Summon the Darkness is released. On the way to a heavy metal concert, Alexis (Alexandra Daddario) and two girlfriends hear a news report of a local murder believed to be tied to a series of satanic killings. After the show, the girls invite three guys to join them at the estate owned by Alexis’s father, a fire-and-brimstone preacher (Johnny Knoxville). What starts as a party suddenly turns dark and deadly.
• MOVIES: TVMA
• Love Wedding Repeat is released. While trying to make his sister's wedding day go smoothly, Jack (Sam Claflin) finds himself juggling an angry ex-girlfriend (Freida Pinto), an uninvited guest with a secret, a misplaced sleep sedative, and the girl that got away (Olivia Munn) in alternate versions of the same day. [Netflix]
• ALBUMS
• The Loves of Your Life was released by Hamilton Leithauser. The second full-length solo release for The Walkmen frontman was self-produced and mixed.
• Song for Our Daughter was released by Laura Marling. The seventh full-length solo release for the British singer-songwriter was produced with Ethan Johns and Dom Monks.
• Antarctica was released by Flat Worms. The second full-length release for the Los Angeles trio led by Will Ivy was recorded by Steve Albini.
• The Universe Inside was released by The Dream Syndicate. The latest release for the band led by Steve Wynn features a guest appearance from The Long Ryders' Stephen McCarthy and was recorded in an 80-minute studio session.
• The New Abnormal was released by The Strokes. The first new full-length studio release in seven years for the New York rock bad was produced by Rick Rubin.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• Final Fantasy VII Remake for PlayStation 4 is released. Long ago, we looked upon a foreboding sky. The memory of the star that threatened all burns eternal in our hearts. In its wake came an age of silence. Yet with each fond remembrance, we knew those encountered were not forgotten, that some day we would see them again. Perhaps it was no more than wishful thinking. But after the long calm, there are the beginnings of a stir. The reunion at hand may bring joy, it may bring fear, but let us embrace whatever it brings. For they are coming back. At last the promise has been made.

On this day in 2019

• EVENTS
• First-ever photo of a black hole announced, taken by The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration in 2017 in galaxy M87,6.5 billion times the mass of earth,55 million light-years away.
• First home delivery service by drone begins in Canberra, Australia by Wing, part of Google's Alphabet company.
• Four tiny sweat bees removed alive from a woman's eye in world's first operation of its kind at Fooyin University Hospital, Taiwan.
• Billie Eilish was at No.1 on the UK chart with her debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? It made Eilish the youngest female solo act to chart at No.1 in the UK. At the 2020 Grammy Awards, it won Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, while 'Bad Guy' from the album won Record of the Year..
• China announces move to cull more than 1 million pigs in effort to eliminate African swine fever.
• New species of human announced named Homo luzonensis,3ft tall, remains dated 50-60,000 years old found in cave on island of Luzon, Philippines.
• New York declares a public health emergency and compulsory vaccinations after a measles outbreak in Brooklyn with 285 cases.
• DEATHS
• Earl Thomas Conley, American singer-songwriter with 18 No. 1 country hits (" Once In A Blue Moon" ; "Angel In Disguise"), who died from cerebral atrophy at 77.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Sauvage / Wild is released. Leo is 22 and sells his body on the street for a bit of cash. The men come and go, and he stays right here... longing for love. He doesn’t know what the future will bring. He hits the road. His heart is pounding.
• The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is released. Toby (Adam Driver) enters a world of time jumping fantasy when he meets "Don Quixote"(Jonathan Pryce), a delusional Spanish cobbler who believes Toby to be Sancho Panza. They embark on an epic adventure where dreams and reality intertwine.
• GAMING: SWITCH
• Silence for Switch is released. Silence: The Whispered World 2 will take you back to Silence, a world made of dreams. We accompany Noah, a teenager who lost his little sister, Renie, in the hazardous real world and now hopes to find her again in Silence. His quest leads him to another visually impressive and emotional adventure, where you get to solve plenty of mysteries surrounding Noah, his sister, and the dreamscapes of Silence.
• GAMING: XBOX ONE
• Vaporum for Xbox One is released. Vaporum is a grid-based dungeon crawler RPG in an original steampunk setting, inspired by old-school classics of the genre. Stranded in the middle of an ocean, in front of a gigantic tower, the hero has to find out what the place is, what happened there, and most importantly, who he is.

On this day in 2018

• EVENTS
• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg begins testifying before US Congress about data use and security.
• DEATHS
• Yvonne Staples, American R& B singer (The Staple Sisters), who died at 80.
• GAMING: PC
• Masters of Anima for PC is released. Delve into an original adventure and defy the forces of evil in strategic, action-packed battles. Summon and control large armies of up to 100 Guardians thanks to intuitive and innovative gameplay and make quick tactical decisions to prevail.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• Super Daryl Deluxe for PlayStation 4 is released. Super Daryl Deluxe is an RPGvania with brawler-style combat set inside of a perfectly normal, sprawling, multi-dimensional high school.
• Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs - Royal Edition for PlayStation 4 is released. Regalia: Of Men And Monarchs is a tactical RPG set in a cheerful fantasy world full of weirdness and wonder. Assemble your party, go adventuring, manage your kingdom, make new friends, and defeat your opponents in challenging turn-based combat.
• Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality for PlayStation 4 is released. Rick and Morty have teleported into your living room for a cutting-edge VR adventure. Play as a Morty clone as you explore Rick’s garage, the Smith household, and alien worlds.
• Extinction for PlayStation 4 is released. Assume the role of one of the world’s last Sentinels, a soldier dubbed Avil equipped with the skills to battle and endless wave of Ravenii. Fight massive brutes and their minions across a sprawling countryside, defending cities and rescuing refugees torn from their homes.
• Call of Duty: WWII - The War Machine for PlayStation 4 is released. Tensions escalate in DLC Pack 2 for Call of Duty: WWII -- The War Machine. Join the Allies and stop the powerful Axis advance in three new Multiplayer maps that illustrate the might and global reach of the Nazi War Machine. Strike back and take part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in Operation Husky, the all new objective-based War Mode mission. Plus, experience the latest Nazi Zombies chapter: The Shadowed Throne. [Activision]
• Time Carnage for PlayStation 4 is released. Time Carnage is a frantic VR survival shooter. Travel through time and wreak havoc through worlds swarming with dinosaurs, monsters, robots, and zombies.
• GAMING: XBOX ONE
• Owlboy for Xbox One is released. Owlboy is a vertical platform adventure set in the sky, where the islands of the world have been spread apart after a great calamity. You play as Otus, among the last of the Owls, a renowned race that has produced many of the world's great wonders

On this day in 2017

• EVENTS
• " British Vogue" magazine announces Edward Enninful as new editor; first male and Black person to hold position.
• " Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana premieres in Toyko.
• Edward Enninful is announced the new Editor of "British Vogue" its first male and black editor.
• BIRTHS
• Chibi Miran, TikTok Star, born in Japan.
• DEATHS
• Banner Thomas, American rock bassist (Molly Hatchet), who died of a heart attack at 63.
• TV SERIES
• Better Call Saul: Season 3 is released. Jimmy and Kim's law practice and relationship are tested by Chuck's (Michael McKean) con as Mike (Jonathan Banks) tries to find the person who seems to knows a lot about what he is doing.
• GAMING: PC
• The Signal From Tolva for PC is released. The Signal From Tölva is an open-world first-person shooter set on a distant, haunted, future world. Unlock savage weapons and recruit robots to fight alongside you as rival factions struggle to discover the source of the mysterious signal. What you discover will decide the fate of a world.
• POLITICS
• Alabama Governor Robert Bentley resigns over relationship with an aide and possible misuse of state funds to cover it up.

On this day in 2016

• EVENTS
• Explosions and a fire caused by fireworks at Puttingal Temple in Kerala, India, kills more than 100 and injures nearly 400.
• DEATHS
• Howard Marks, British drug dealer and author (Mr Nice), who died at 70.
• TV SERIES
• Fear the Walking Dead: Season 2 is released. The second season expands to 15 episodes (although the latter eight episodes will air in the fall) as the survivors find the ocean is no refuge from the zombies.
• Dice (2016): Season 1 is released. The semi-autobiographical comedy series features Andrew Dice Clay as he seeks a career comeback after living life in the suburbs of Las Vegas.
• The Girlfriend Experience: Season 1 is released. The drama series based on Steven Soderbergh 2009 film of the same name follows law student Christine Reade (Riley Keough) as she becomes a call-girl who provides the "girlfriend experience"to her clients.
• POLITICS
• Hong Kong pro-democracy political party Demosisto established by Nathan Law, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow.

On this day in 2015

• EVENTS
• All Time Low were at No.1 on the UK album chart with their sixth studio album Future Hearts. The American rock band also reach No.2 in the US, giving them their highest placing on the US album chart to date..
• DEATHS
• Richie Benaud, Australian cricket all-rounder and captain (62 Tests,3 x 100s,248 wickets; NSW CA) and broadcaster (9 Network, BBC), who died from skin cancer at 84.
• Paul Almond, Director.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Kill Me Three Times is released. A mercurial assassin (Simon Pegg) discovers he isn't the only person trying to kill the siren (Alice Braga) of a sun-drenched surfing town. In this darkly comedic thriller, the hitman finds himself unravelling three tales of mayhem, murder, blackmail and revenge. [Magnet Releasing]
• The Harvest is released. Maryann (Natasha Calis) moves in with her grandparents after she’s orphaned. Desperately lonely, the preteen sets out to befriend a neighboring deathly ill, bed-ridden boy (Charlie Tahan), despite the outright disapproval of his mother (Samantha Morton). Maryann’s persistence pays off, however, and during a series of secret visits she gradually uncovers some seriously sinister goings-on in the house. [IFC Films]
• Black Souls is released. The Carbone family consists of three brothers, Luigi (Marco Leonardi) and Rocco (Peppino Mazzotta) who are engaged in the family business of international drug trade and Luciano (Fabrizio Ferracane) who has remained in the ancestral town of Africo in the Aspromonte mountains on the Mediterranean coast—herding goats. His 20-year old son Leo (Giuseppe Fumo) has little respect for his farmer father, but idealizes his Mafioso uncles. When Leo shoots up a bar owned by a rival family with a longstanding blood feud with the Carbones, his reckless actions create trouble that brings the whole family back to Africo for the inevitable bloody showdown. [Vitagraph Films]
• Dior and I is released. Dior and I brings the viewer inside the storied world of the Christian Dior fashion house with a privileged, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Raf Simons' first haute couture collection as its new artistic director-a true labor of love created by a dedicated group of collaborators. Melding the everyday, pressure-filled components of fashion with mysterious echoes from the iconic brand's past, the film is also a colorful homage to the seamstresses who serve Simons' vision. [The Orchard]
• MOVIES: PG13
• Desert Dancer is released. Set in Iran, this powerful and unbelievable true story follows the brave ambition of Afshin Ghaffarian. During the volatile climate of the 2009 presidential election, where many cultural freedoms were threatened, Afshin and some friends (including Elaheh played by Freida Pinto) risk their lives and form an underground dance company. Through banned online videos, they learn from timeless legends who cross all cultural divides, such as Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev. Afshin and Elaheh also learn much from each other, most importantly how to embrace their passion for dance and for one another. [Relativity Media]
• The Longest Ride is released. Based on the bestselling novel by master storyteller Nicholas Sparks, The Longest Ride centers on the star-crossed love affair between Luke (Scott Eastwood), a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia (Britt Robertson), a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City's art world. As conflicting paths and ideals test their relationship, Sophia and Luke make an unexpected and fateful connection with Ira, whose memories of his own decades-long romance with his beloved wife deeply inspire the young couple. Spanning generations and two intertwining love stories, The Longest Ride explores the challenges and infinite rewards of enduring love. [20th Century Fox]
• The Sisterhood of Night is released. When a teenage girl says she's the victim of a secret network called The Sisterhood of Night, a quiet suburban town becomes the backdrop for a modern-day Salem witch trial.
• MOVIES: R
• Lost River is released. Set against the surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city, Billy (Christina Hendricks), a single mother of two, is swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son, Bones, discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. Both Billy and Bones must dive deep into the mystery if their family is to survive.
• Clouds of Sils Maria is released. At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant (Kristen Stewart) to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) is to take on the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself.
• Broken Horses is released. After leaving town following the death of his father, young music prodigy, Jacob Heckum (Anton Yelchin), returns to his desolate hometown only to discover that Buddy (Chris Marquette), the child-like brother he left behind now works for a drug gang. The gang’s ruthless leader (Vincent D’Onofrio) has twisted his simple mind and manipulated him into a killer, a surrogate son who blindly does as he is told. Jacob is drowned in guilt for having abandoned his brother and realizes the only way to save him from his new fraternity is to join them.
• Ex Machina is released. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test—charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan’s latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated, seductive––and more deceptive––than the two men could have imagined.
• GAMING: 3DS
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3D for 3DS is released. Join the battle for Bionis to repel the invasion of a terrifying mechanical army and uncover the secrets of a mystical sword called the Monado in Xenoblade.
• GAMING: PC
• Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today for PC is released. A dying reality, a universe that is fading into the background. A merciless world that gets sick and vanishes. No past, no present, no future; only the impending moment of “dead synchronicity” ahead. Will you be able to stop it? Because, otherwise... what will you do when Time dissolves itself?
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• Tower of Guns for PlayStation 4 is released. Tower of Guns is a first-person shooter for gamers who simply want to arm themselves with the biggest guns imaginable, dispatching a whole array of enemies and perils in a tsunami of bullets, battle massive bosses, upgrade abilities and modify gear to make themselves the ultimate force. Whenever the gamer dies, she returns to the beginning of the challenge, only stronger and better-equipped than before, ready to face varying level layouts and enemies, keeping the action fresh and challenging.

On this day in 2014

• EVENTS
• 29th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Peter Gabriel; Hall & Oates; KISS; Nirvana; Linda Ronstadt; Cat Stevens; The E Street Band; Brian Epstein; and Andrew Loog Oldham.
• 88 civilians are killed by barrel bombs from Syrian war planes in Aleppo, Syria.
• " The Amazing Spider-Man 2" directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone premieres in London.
• The Council of Europe suspends Russia's right to vote.
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Peter Gabriel; Hall & Oates; KISS; Nirvana; Linda Ronstadt; Cat Stevens; The E Street Band; Brian Epstein; and Andrew Loog Oldham.
• DEATHS
• Richard Hoggart, British author (The Uses of Literacy: Aspects of Working Class Life) and warden (Goldsmith's College London), who died at 95.
• GAMING: PC
• Warlock 2: The Exiled for PC is released. Warlock 2 is a turn-based strategy game of fantasy warfare. Rival against Great Mages, lead mighty armies into fierce battles, wield ancient magic, use cunning diplomacy and faith as your weapons. Experience the challenge in single or multiplayer.
• POLITICS
• Jim Flaherty, Canadian politician, Minister of Finance (2006-2014), who died at 64.

On this day in 2013

• EVENTS
• Japan and Taiwan sign an agreement on fishing rights around the Senkaku Islands.
• Kate Bush received her CBE for services to music from the Queen at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, England. The singer-songwriter, who was catapulted to fame in 1978 when Wuthering Heights topped the charts, said she was 'incredibly thrilled'. The 54-year-old dedicated the award to her family and joked that it would have pride of place at the top of her Christmas tree..
• DEATHS
• Raymond Boudon, French sociologist, who died at 79.
• Robert Edwards, British physiologist, IVF pioneer, and Nobel laureate, who died at 87.
• Jimmy Dawkins, American electric blues musician, who died at 76.
• GAMING: PC
• ShootMania Storm for PC is released. ShootMania is a first person shooter by Nadeo.
• GAMING: XBOX 360
• Motocross Madness for Xbox 360 is released. Motocross Madness lets players take their bike freeriding across massive environments, from the deserts of Egypt to the snows of Iceland.