1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin (above right) began his first state visit to China, eager to expand military cooperation in what he called a “new era” in relations. “Very, very big prospects for cooperation” exist in the military field, the Russian leader declared. “A lot of Chinese technology and military equipment comes from the former Soviet Union,” he told reporters during a visit to the Great Wall. “To develop this sector, China needs spare parts and technology for all kinds of weapons.” Beijing has ruled out an alliance with Moscow, but by opening the door to increased military cooperation, Yeltsin will likely cause anxiety among his western allies. The Chinese government earlier accorded a red-carpet welcome to Yeltsin and his high-powered delegation.
December 17
1718 - England declares war on Spain.
1903 - Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
1922 - The last British troops leave the Irish Free State.
1941 - Japanese troops begin invasion of North Borneo during the Second World War.
1948 - Dutch attack Indonesia, invade the capital Yogyakarta and arrest President Sukarno.
1957 - US successfully test-fires the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.
1961 - A fire sweeps through a circus tent in Niteroi, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing 323 people.
1967 - Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears while swimming at Portsea, Victoria.
1971 - India and Pakistan end a two-week war in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
1980 - Suspected Armenian terrorists assassinate Turkish Consul General Sarik Ariyak in Sydney, Australia.
1985 - Pakistan and India agree not to attack each other’s nuclear sites.
1992 - The North American Free Trade Agreement is signed in Texas.
1997 - Thirty-four countries sign a treaty aimed at eradicating bribery in international business.
2000 - US President-elect George W. Bush names retired General Colin Powell as Secretary of State.
2002 - The Congolese government and the country’s main rebel groups sign a peace accord in Pretoria, South Africa.
2006 - Gunmen in Iraqi army uniforms burst into Red Crescent offices in Baghdad and kidnap more than two dozen people.
2010 - Mohammad Bu Azizi immolates himself in Sidi Bouzid in protest against his vegetable cart’s confiscation, which sparked a revolution in Tunisia.
2012 - The UAE and the Russian Federation sign an agreement on the development and use of civilian nuclear power.
2013 - Germany’s parliament elects Angela Merkel as Chancellor for a third term.
2014 - The Church of England names vicar Libby Lane as its first female bishop, following a historic change in its rules.
