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Future

Extra! How The World Press Reported Moon Landing 50 Years Ago

A half-century later, Neil Armstrong's 'great leap' still boggles the mind. Here's a look back at some of the headlines that followed the historic feat.

Buzz Aldrin making headlines
Buzz Aldrin making headlines

PARIS — The date was July 20, 1969, the clock read 10:56 p.m. on the East Coast of the United States, as much of the world tuned in by radio or television to follow NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong take that historic-making first step on the moon.

On the 50th anniversary of that historic landing, we look back at how the event was covered in the press. In a time before smartphones and the internet, people all over the world were united by the experience of watching or listening to Armstrong's "giant leap" — or reading about it just afterwards in the press.

As those first steps were broadcasted live, newspapers began reporting one of the most momentous events in human history. By the following morning, a Monday, headlines in papers from Mexico, to Bulgaria, to South Africa proclaimed Apollo 11's improbable accomplishment.

Below is a collection front pages (and a few magazine covers) from around the world announcing nothing less than the dawn of a new era.

THE UNITED STATES

The New York Times

The Miami News

The Daily Tribune

Chicago Tribune


MEXICO

El Universal


BRAZIL

O Povo

Folha De S. Paulo


IRELAND

The Irish Times

The Irish Press


THE UNITED KINGDOM

The Daily Post

Daily Express


FRANCE

France Soir

Le Monde

Le Soir


THE NETHERLANDS

Algemeen Dagblad

Trouw

Het Parool

de Buzz Krant

Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant


SWEDEN

Aftonbladet

Dagens Nyheter


NORWAY

Dagbladet


DENMARK

Berlingske Tidende


GERMANY

Bild

Der Abend


ITALY

Il Messaggero


AUSTRIA

Arbeiter-Zeitung


POLAND

Nowości


YUGOSLAVIA

Borba


BULGARIA

Rabotnichesko Delo


TURKEY

Cumhuriyet


SOVIET UNION (MOSCOW)

Pravda


ISRAEL

Haaretz

The Jerusalem Post


SOUTH KOREA

Kyunghyang Shinmun


JAPAN

The Japan Times

Yomiuri Shimbun​


THAILAND

The Bangkok Post


SOUTH VIETNAM

The Saigon Post


AUSTRALIA

The Sydney Morning Herald


SOUTH AFRICA

The Cape Times


MAGAZINES

FRANCE

Paris Match


THE UNITED STATES

Time Magazine


ITALY

Epoca


BRAZIL

Veja


GERMANY

Stern

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Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

How Vulnerable Are The Russians In Crimea?

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on the occupied Crimean peninsula, and Russia is doing all within its power to deny how vulnerable it has become.

Photograph of the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters with smoke rising above it after a Ukrainian missile strike.

September 22, 2023, Sevastopol, Crimea, Russia: Smoke rises over the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters after a Ukrainian missile strike.

TASS/ZUMA
Kyrylo Danylchenko

This article was updated Sept. 26, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.

Russian authorities are making a concerted effort to downplay and even deny the recent missile strikes in Russia-occupied Crimea.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Media coverage in Russia of these events has been intentionally subdued, with top military spokesperson Igor Konashenkov offering no response to an attack on Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, or the alleged downing last week of Russian Su-24 aircraft by Ukrainian Air Defense.

The response from this and other strikes on the Crimean peninsula and surrounding waters of the Black Sea has alternated between complete silence and propagating falsehoods. One notable example of the latter was the claim that the Russian headquarters building of the Black Sea fleet that was hit Friday was empty and that the multiple explosions were mere routine training exercises.

Ukraine claimed on Monday that the attack killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. "After the strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Another 105 occupiers were wounded. The headquarters building cannot be restored," the Ukrainian special forces said via Telegram.

But Sokolov was seen on state television on Tuesday, just one day after Ukraine claimed he'd been killed. The Russian Defense Ministry released footage of the admiral partaking in a video conference with top admirals and chiefs, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, though there was no verification of the date of the event.

Moscow has been similarly obtuse following other reports of missiles strikes this month on Crimea. Russian authorities have declared that all missiles have been intercepted by a submarine and a structure called "VDK Minsk", which itself was severely damaged following a Ukrainian airstrike on Sept. 13. The Russians likewise dismissed reports of a fire at the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, attributing it to a mundane explosion caused by swamp gas.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has refrained from commenting on the military situation in Crimea and elsewhere, continuing to repeat that everything is “proceeding as planned.”

Why is Crimea such a touchy topic? And why is it proving to be so hard to defend?

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