2003 - Two members of the armed wing of the radical group Hamas were among four Palestinians killed in an attack by Israeli helicopter gunships. They identified the two men as Wahid Al Hams and Ahmad Shtawi, members of Ezzedine Al Qasam, the military arm of Hamas. The two other victims were not identified. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s security chief in the Gaza Strip ordered steps to stop militant groups firing rockets and mortar bombs at Israelis, security sources said. A statement issued by Major-General Abdul Razek Al Majaydeh said forces had been instructed to “maintain security and stability”.
Other important events
1909 - The first concrete is poured for the Panama Canal.
1954 - President Getulio Vargas of Brazil kills himself with a gunshot to the heart.
1968 - France becomes the world’s fifth thermonuclear power after it successfully tests a hydrogen bomb.
1989 - Solidarity journalist Tadeusz Mazowiecki officially becomes Poland’s prime minister.
1991 - President Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1992 - Iran occupies the Abu Mousa Island and denies the entry of UAE teachers.
2008 - An Iran-bound passenger jet carrying 90 people crashes near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, killing at least 65 people.
2012 - US anti-doping agency strips Lance Armstrong of his record seven Tour de France titles and slaps the cyclist with a lifetime ban.
2014 - Hollywood actor and director Richard Attenborough dies 90.
2015 - British driver Justin Wilson dies after suffering a severe head injury at IndyCar race in Pennsylvania.
