Operation Flavius was a military operation in which three members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) were killed by the British Special Air Service (SAS) in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988. The three were believed to be mounting a car bomb attack on British military personnel, but they proved to be unarmed and no bomb was discovered. This event started a violent spree in which mourners were killed at the funeral of the IRA members, then two British soldiers were killed after they accidentally drove into a funeral procession for one of the mourners. A documentary, "Death on the Rock", was televised on 24 April 1988 and presented the possibility that the three IRA members had been unlawfully killed. An inquest ruled that the SAS had acted lawfully, but the European Court of Human Rights held that the planning and control of the operation was so flawed as to make the use of lethal force almost inevitable, a breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Flavius

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1853:

Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata premiered at La Fenice in Venice, but the performance was considered so bad that it caused him to revise portions of the opera. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_traviata

1933:

The Nazi Party took the first step in the Gleichschaltung process by passing the Enabling Act, giving the government the right to make laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltung

1964:

In a radio broadcast, Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad announced that American boxer Cassius Clay would change his name to Muhammad Ali (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali

1987:

The ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized while leaving the harbour of Zeebrugge, Belgium, killing 193 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Herald_of_Free_Enterprise

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Coronatide: (Christianity, neologism) The period of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Coronatide

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Life, struck sharp on death, Makes awful lightning.   --Elizabeth Barrett Browning https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barrett_Browning