On this day in ...... 1703 (305 years ago today), in Lisbon, England and Portugal signed a commercial treaty that guaranteed that Portugal would accept English textiles and that port, Portugal's signature wine, could enter England at tariffs lower than those imposed on wines from France. Named after the British negotiator, this Methuen Treaty "played a major part in the development of the port wine industry."
... 2004, Viktor Yushchenko (below right), the opposition leader, was declared the winner of Presidential elections in Ukraine -- elections necessitated by the annulment of balloting the previous month
that was declared fraudulent. Though heralded as the "Orange Revolution," Yushchenko's election has not brough prosperity to Ukraine, where "[e]conomic growth has slowed and prices have risen." (photo credit)
