On Sept 28:

1994 – The ferry MS Estonia (pictured) sank while commuting between Tallinn, Estonia, and Stockholm, Sweden, claiming 852 lives in one of the worst maritime accidents in the Baltic Sea.

September 30th 1971: Foreign Office names Soviet superspy

The British Government has named the Soviet defector who last week exposed dozens of Russians alleged to be spying in the UK.
Information from Oleg Lyalin - supposedly a member of the USSR's trade delegation in the UK - led to the expulsion of 105 Soviet officials from Britain on 25 September.

Mr Lyalin, 35, is a senior officer in Russia's intelligence service, the KGB. He was due to appear at a London magistrates' court at 1030 GMT on a drink-driving charge, but failed to appear.

He is now understood to be under the protection of British counter-espionage agents along with his secretary, Irina Teplyakova, who has also defected.

Remanded on bail

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed the pair had sought political asylum after Mr Lyalin's arrest in Tottenham Court Road, central London, on 30 August.

He was remanded on bail of £50 which was paid by the Soviet trade delegation.

His hearing today in Number One Court, Marlborough Street, lasted only long enough for him to be reported absent.

Charles Shearer - the police officer who arrested the Russian - was in the courtroom.

"Up till this morning I did not know that the man I arrested was a spy - it was only when I read the papers today that I twigged," he said.

If Mr Lyalin's allegations are correct it will be a huge blow for the KGB's operations in the UK.

The Soviet Union has responded with the expulsion of 18 British embassy staff from Moscow and surveillance of all UK subjects in the country is reported to have been stepped up.

1985: Riots erupt in Toxteth and Peckham
Police in riot gear have closed off areas of Liverpool and London tonight in efforts to contain continued outbreaks of violence and vandalism.

At least ten people are believed to have been injured in the Liverpool district of Toxteth, including three police officers, after gangs stoned cars and set them on fire.

The Liverpool violence follows angry protests over a court case involving four local men earlier today.

Proceedings were disrupted at Liverpool magistrates court by a large crowd of demonstrators protesting against the charging of four black defendants in relation to a stabbing investigation.

As protesters left the court several shouted at police: "We'll see you tonight."

An hour later trouble broke out in the Toxteth area. At least five vehicles including a mail van were pelted with stones and their occupants dragged out. The vehicles were overturned and torched.

Missiles were also thrown at the police station in Hope Street, the headquarters of Toxteth community policing.

Police say the violence has now subsided and crowds have dispersed although small gangs are still roaming the side streets.

Local community leaders have visited the area hoping to calm the atmosphere but police remain on alert. A spokesman said: "It's a warm night and we don't know which way it's going to go."

On Oct 1:

1908 - Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile. It cost $825.

October 2, 1993: Hardline Communists riot in Moscow
Shots have been fired and several people injured after pro-Communist demonstrators fought running battles with security forces loyal to President Boris Yeltsin in Moscow.
Riot squads were moved in to clear the streets after protesters erected barriers and set car tyres ablaze across the Garden Ring Road, Moscow's main thoroughfare.

Riot police drafted in reinforcements and water cannon to disperse the crowds but were driven back with a hail of home-made missiles.

The protesters are supporting rebel ministers occupying the White House (Russia's parliament building).

President Yeltsin set himself on a collision course with MPs by dissolving parliament and called for fresh elections on 21 September.

Rival claims

The rebels have demanded Yeltsin reverse his earlier decision to dissolve the conservative parliament.

Vice President Alexander Rutskoi, a key player among the hard-line communists and nationalist parliament rebels, is claiming the presidency.

Today he called on people to take to the streets again and urged police officers to switch their allegiance.

Several people were injured in the fighting between riot police and around 600 demonstrators armed with steel bars, petrol bombs and rocks.

Police fired warning shots in the air, but were beaten back by a powerful and determined crowd of rioters.

Government sources have reported 24 police officers and five demonstrators were injured in the clash, but parliamentary sources say the figures were higher.

Witnesses say the crowds are dispersing but nationalist parliamentarian Ilya Konstantinov earlier exhorted protesters to "go home and conserve your strength".

Further clashes are expected tomorrow. Meanwhile the Russian Orthodox Church appealed for calm and warned the country is in danger of breaking up.

Patriarch Alexi II yesterday threatened to excommunicate whichever side shed innocent blood first.

Talks brokered by the Orthodox Church are expected to continue, but President Yeltsin has insisted legislators occupying the parliamentary building must surrender their weapons before any truce can be made.

In a concession he allowed electricity to be restored, but in a visit to police surrounding the parliament building, President Yeltsin threatened to prosecute his opponents for several protest-related deaths.