In 1932 a British tradition began when King George V broadcast a Christmas message to his subjects.  This first Christmas message was broadcast from the King's Sandringham residence, and the tradition of the message is now continued by Queen Elizabeth II.  King George commissioned Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Book, to write the speech, in which the King stated that he was speaking “from my home and from my heart to you all”.   In the speech, the King marvels at the “wireless” technology which enables him speak to the people of his empire,to those “cut off by the snows, the desert, or the sea”. 

To read the entire Christmas message, please click here. 

With today being Christmas Eve, I would like to take this opportunity to wish our users a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year on behalf of everyone here at Keesing's. 

I am pleased to announce that the content of the October issue of Keesing's Record of World Events is now live on the site.  Click here to access the new content. 

Also, a new "Breaking History" is now live.  Click here to read about the Venezuelan public's rejection of President Hugo Chávez Frías's proposal to reform the constitution. 

On Dec. 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly declared that Dec. 18 would be International Migrants Day. The UN's decision to adopt an International Migrants Day is indicative of the increasing number of migrants (who now compose three per cent of the global population) and the need to address the complex socio-political issues surrounding mass migration.  The UN hopes that the day will encourage the international community to protect the human rights of all migrant.

Here are a collection of migration related links:

•June 2005 – The International Organisation for Migration's (IOM) World Migration Report 2005 refutes the belief that migration imposes a burden on the welfare systems of receiving countries is unfounded.  The report states that most migrants contribute much more in taxes than they receive in benefits.

•June 2002 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) produces a report warning that the global preoccupation with security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the USA threatens to undermine economic globalisation and could damage long-term economic growth.  The report predicts a crackdown on illegal migrant workers in developed countries, which would reduce the remittances sent back to home countries.

•January 1952 - The International Refugee Organization (IRO) concludes its operations. A total of 1,619,008 persons had received some form of assistance from the Organization.

•December 1951 - The Naples Conference on Migration is attended by delegates from 27 countries.

•October 1945 - An estimated 13,000,000 Germans are forced to evacuate Poland, Czechoslovakia, Silesia and East Prussia.  The New York Herald-Tribune describes the movement as: "one of the greatest mass migrations in history…flowing like a gigantic tidal wave into the Russian-occupied zone". 

December 1 was World AIDS day and the UN chose ‘leadership’ as the day's theme.  The focus on 'leadership' in fighting the war against AIDS also builds upon last year's theme of 'accountability'.   With 'leadership' in mind, here is a selection of articles which chart the global response to the disease. 

•April 2007  - World Health Organisation (WHO) - HIV/AIDS developments.

•March 2007 -  South Africa, new AIDS plan.

•August 2006 - The 16th biennial International AIDS Conference (Toronto, Canada).

•September 1998.  The Washington Post reports that French researchers have discovered a new strain of the HIV virus which had hitherto escaped detection by standard blood tests.

•July 1994 -  WHO report on the sharp rise in AIDS cases.

•November 1992. - Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.

•August 1987 - International AIDS issues.

•April 1985 - First International AIDS Conference is held in Atlanta, United States.