Explore significant historical events on this day with BBC News.

May 6, 2008 · The State of Israel was proclaimed on 14 May 1948, the culmination of nearly two thousand years of hopes by Jewish people.

Jul 4, 2008 · The National Institute of Standards and Technology's lead investigator, Dr Shyam Sunder, spoke to BBC Two's "The Conspiracy Files": "Our working hypothesis now actually suggests that it was normal building fires that were growing and spreading throughout the multiple floors that may have caused the ultimate collapse of the buildings."

Nov 12, 2007 · The result was the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, which banned semi-automatic and pump-action rifles; weapons which fire explosive ammunition; short shotguns with magazines; and elevated pump-action and self-loading rifles.Registration was also made mandatory for shotguns, which were required to be kept in secure storage. Even stricter controls were introduced after the 1996 killings in ...

Monday, July 19, 1999 Published at 13:32 GMT 14:32 UK Entertainment Final farewell to Summer Wine star Bill Owen as Compo in love with Nora Batty (Kathy Staff)

Only Princess Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the crash. Blood tests showed the driver, Henri Paul, had taken both drugs and a large amount of alcohol before the accident.

Aug 21, 2003 · I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.

Sunday, January 31, 1999 Published at 06:07 GMT UK Lockerbie pair 'could have survived' Wreckage: 259 on board and 11 on the ground died New research has suggested that two victims of the Lockerbie airliner bombing could have survived the six-mile fall to earth only to die of exposure later, a newspaper has reported.

Actor Heath Ledger, who has been found dead at the age of 28, was regarded as one of Hollywood's brightest young stars, with a string of acclaimed films behind him and a major career ahead.

Mar 16, 2009 · See how your finances would be affected by changes in the property market with our mortgage and equity calculators.