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News This Day in History - August 25 Friday, August 25, 2017 Today is the 237th day of 2017. There are 128 days left in the year.
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT 2000: The Zimbabwe Government names another 509 white-owned farms it plans to confiscate for redistribution to landless blacks, bringing to 1,542 the number it has targeted under a hastened land seizure programme . OTHER EVENTS 1580: Spain invades Portugal and, in a matter of weeks, conquers it and keeps it for more than 80 years. 1718: Hundreds of French colonists arrive in Louisiana with some settling in present-day New Orleans. 1825: Uruguay declares independence from Brazil. 1860: British and French troops take Tianjin in war with China. 1875: Matthew Webb, British professional swimmer , becomes the first person to swim across the English Channel, travelling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 22 hours. 1883: France obtains protectorate over Annam and Tonkin in Indochina. 1916: President Woodrow Wilson signs an act es...