1948 Singapore -- Airstrip

The small crown colony of Singapore, Cocos Island in the Indian Ocean, was being considered as an airstrip that would link Australia to Britain. After a contentious debate in the Singapore government it was decided to spend $2,500 to repair the airstrip for air traffic.

1950 Korea -- Chinese Enter Pyongyang

Following the United nations retreat from North Korea, Chinese troops have entered the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

1959 Turkey -- President Eisenhower Visit

President Eisenhower was to visit Ankara, Turkey for seventeen hours and all over the country the Turkish citizens were wildly enthusiastic. Posters of "Turks like Ike too" were placed everywhere around the city. Turkey was a strong supporter of the Atlantic Pact.

1966 South Vietnam -- U.S. Planes Attack Hanoi

U.S. war planes were retaliating for the largest loss of their planes since the beginning of the Vietnam War. They hit targets near Hanoi and shot down an enemy plane. Near Saigon thirty Viet Cong were killed as well as three Americans.

1977 Egypt -- Breaks of Relations With Other Arab Countries

Following the hard line countries opposition to Egypt and signing the Declaration of Tripoli which includes sanctions against Egypt because President Anwar al-Sadat became the first Arab leader to recognize the state of Israel. President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt has broken all relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen.

1987 Haiti -- US Diplomats Withdrawn

One hundred and fifty American embassy workers and diplomats were withdrawn from Haiti due to the unstable political situation. They were expected to be home by Christmas. Eighty embassy employees were left behind to take care of essential services. Sixty-four million dollars in aid was withdrawn by President Reagan and Haiti's national elections were not held because voters were endangered.

1991 UK -- Maxwell Empire Faces Bankruptcy

Following the death of Robert Maxwell administrators have been called in to try to salvage the Maxwell business empire, which includes the Mirror Group Newspapers and is at least £1bn in debt

1995 Sri Lanka -- Tamil Tiger

Sri Lankan forces have taken back the city of Jaffna from Tamil Tiger guerrilla forces after a 7 week operation. The Tamil Tigers had been in control of the city for some time and had their own police force, law courts and were collecting taxes from the city population. The Tamil Tigers are a guerrilla force who are seeking to create a Tamil sovereign socialist state in the north and east of the country of Sri Lanka ( formerly Ceylon ).

1996 U.S.A. -- Alan Greenspan

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan questions whether the stock market is overvalued, saying in a speech in Washington, ''How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly inflated asset values? that is thought to have led Japanese stocks to fall 3.2%

1999 Northern Ireland -- IRA

In Belfast the Protestant-Catholic government was new and fragile. The main issue left to establish peace in Ireland was the disarming of the IRA, however some IRA militants said they had enough weapons to keep on fighting for another generation. General John de Chastelain, a Canadian disarmament leader, was planning a meeting with a chief IRA leader – possibly Brian Keenan -- to discuss where the IRA has its cache of weapons stashed.

2005 UK -- Civil Partnership Act

The Civil Partnership Act comes into law. ( The Civil Partnership Act grants civil partnerships "which include same sex partnerships" in the United Kingdom with rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage ).

2006 Iraq -- US Soldiers Killed

Thirteen American soldiers were killed fighting in Iraq during the last week. Among the dead were four Marines who crashed in a Sea Knight helicopter which had mechanical failure.

2007 U.S.A. -- Westroads Mall massacre

Robert A. Hawkins enters Von Maur department store in the Westroads Mall in Omaha,Nebraska and opens fire with a AK-47 7.62x39mm semi-automatic rifle killing eight people before taking his own life. He had left a suicide note earlier with the words " I just want to be famous" .

2008 U.S.A. -- O.J. Simpson sentenced to up to thirty-three years in jail

O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted for the well-known double murder in Los Angeles is sentenced for up to thirty-three years in prison for robbing a pair of memorabilia dealers. He will not be eligible for parole for nine years.

2008 Panama -- Russian destroyer goes through Panama Canal

Panama allows a Russian warship to sail through the trans-oceanic waterway on Friday, 5th. The destroyer, the Admiral Chabanenko, is the first Soviet/Russian military ship to use the fifty mile waterway since World War II. The U.S. government shows little concern about the destroyer's use of the canal, which had been off limits to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

2009 Copenhagen -- Protests in Europe ahead of Copenhagen climate summit

Tens of thousands of people across Europe have demonstrated for action on climate change two days before world leaders are gathering in Copenhagen for landmark talks on global warming. Protesters in London, Brussels, Paris, Stockholm and Dublin took to the streets to call for a far-reaching international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the U.N-led talks that start on 7th. About twenty thousand people have marched through central London.

2011 Russia -- Thousands of Russians Protest Against Putin Amid Elections

Thousands of Russians gathered in the streets of Moscow to protest against Prime Minister Putin after accusations of an unfair parliamentary election slanted in Putin's favor. The unrest comes soon after Putin announced he would run for president in the next election. Putin had held the presidency from 2000 until 2008, but was not allowed to run for a third consecutive term.

2012 United States -- Jazz Pianist Dies

World-famous Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck died of heart failure at the age of ninety-one in Connecticut. Brubeck was considered a music legend and was most well-known for his single "Take Five".

2013 South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Dies

The first black president of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist, Nelson Mandela, died at the age of ninety-five after suffering from a respiratory infection. Mandela had spent nearly thirty years in prison for fighting against apartheid in South Africa, after his release in the early 1990s he became the country's president and was revered worldwide as a fighter for freedoms. Many South Africans considered him the father of their modern nation.