1867

Navigator Major Bonard, Commander of the French Expeditionary Corps in southern Viet Nam, declares the French occupation of all the six southern provinces. The Hue Court no longer had power over these provinces.

1938

Gaelic scholar Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first president of the Irish Republic.

1946

The World Bank (WB) is officially put into operation.

1965

The Americans launch the first air raid on Ha Noi.

1975

Mozambique becomes independent after a ten-year war against Portuguese colonial domination of 477 years.

1975

The Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and Mozambique establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level.

1991

The Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence from the federation, as tensions rise and violence seems imminent.

2002

WorldCom Inc, the second-largest US telecommunications company, discloses it inflated its cash flow by US$3.8 billion.

2003

US President George W Bush hosts European Union leaders at the White House for the annual US-EU summit.

2007

The final British troops withdraw from the Northern Ireland borderland, ending a 37-year mission to keep watch over the Irish Republican Army's most dangerous power base.

2009

Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted "King of Pop" who emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world's most influential singer and dancer before his life and career deteriorated in a freakish series of scandals, dies at 50.

2011

Gaza Strip militants vow that an Israeli soldier captured five years ago will not "see the light" until Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are released. — AP/Reuters