This week, we revisit America in tumult: from the immediate global panic of the Lehman Brothers collapse to the wounded resolve of America following the September 11 attacks. The British domestic front also proves turbulent as the country navigates the Black Wednesday currency crash, a far-right electoral victory in Tower Hamlets, and a startling KGB revelation that officially turned a notorious spy ring into the Cambridge Five. Explore all this and more in this week’s front pages.
20 September 1988 – Hundreds dead in Burma coup as Aung San Suu Kyi rallies opposition
Hundreds of civilians are shot dead in the streets of Rangoon just a day after the Burmese military successfully seizes political power. The city is plunged into chaos. In a notable early appearance on the global stage, emerging opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi captures the defiance of the nation by declaring that the people are “determined not to give up”.
14 September 1989 – KGB confirms existence of a fifth Cambridge spy
Breaking decades of absolute silence during its very first public press conference, the KGB openly discusses its most notorious British intelligence assets. The former controller of the Cambridge spy ring confirms to the gathered international media that there was indeed a fifth man operating within the compromised group. This elusive final member was later officially revealed to be the British civil servant John Cairncross.
17 September 1992 – Black Wednesday currency crash
The British pound enters a dramatic freefall as the currency is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Prime Minister John Major blames the German Bundesbank for the sudden devaluation of sterling and the subsequent 2 per cent rise in interest rates. Amid calls for an emergency parliamentary session, Downing Street insists that Norman Lamont will retain his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer despite the escalating crisis.
14 September 1993 – Rabin and Arafat seal historic peace accord with a handshake
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat share an unprecedented public handshake during a “compelling piece of White House theatre”. The gesture marks the signing of a landmark peace agreement intended to end decades of conflict between the two populations. Addressing the watching world, Rabin declared: “Let me say to you, the Palestinians, we are destined to live together on the same soil.”
18 September 1993 – British National Party secures first ever electoral victory
The British political establishment is severely shaken after the far-right British National Party wins a highly controversial local council seat. Front page photographs show ecstatic supporters celebrating the election of candidate Derek Beackon during a bitter by-election in the London borough of Tower Hamlets.
14 September 2001 – ‘Wounded nation braces for war’ in days after 9/11
Alongside a poignant photograph of an exhausted rescue worker atop the ruined World Trade Center, the front page reports an estimated death toll of five thousand (later revised down to nearly three thousand). Capturing the mood of a wounded nation bracing for conflict, President George W. Bush promises that a “global strike force” will retaliate. Fulfilling this vow just days later, the United States ordered a massive deployment of warships to the Persian Gulf to begin combat operations.
16 September 2008 – Crash! Lehman Brothers collapses
The shocking bankruptcy of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers sends immediate shockwaves through the entire global financial system. Stock markets plummet around the world as thousands of jobs are instantly wiped out and America’s largest insurance company teeters on the brink of failure. This economic crisis triggers widespread panic among investors who fear that several more major banks will soon go under.
18 September 2014 – Referendum for Scottish independence
Voters across Scotland head to the polls in a momentous referendum that threatens to dismantle a three-hundred-year-old alliance. Writing for The Independent, Andreas Whittam Smith praises the remarkable “carnival of democracy” no matter the result. The electorate ultimately voted to remain within the United Kingdom by 55 percent to 45 percent.
