August 23, 2003: Italian and German leaders finally meet

2003 - After shying away from an opera rendezvous, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi finally met German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for the first time since he ruffled feathers with a Nazi jibe. Italy’s billionaire businessman-turned-politician caused an uproar when he compared a German politician to a Nazi concentration camp official, straining relations and casting a shadow over Italy’s presidency of the European Union. But he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Schroeder in the northern Italian city of Verona, with both playing down the summer spat and Berlusconi’s opera no-show.

1609 - Italian astronomer Galileo demonstrates his telescope for the first time.

1839 - Hong Kong is taken by British in war with China.

1908 - Abdul Aziz of Morocco is defeated at Marrakesh by Mulai Hafid, the new sultan.

1954 - Twenty-one people are killed when a KLM airliner, en route to New York, crashes in the North Sea.

1982 - Lebanese Parliament elects Bashir Gemayel as President.

1987 - Former Formula One driver Didier Pironi is killed in an accident off the Isle of Wight.

1991 - The World Wide Web is opened up to new users.

2000 - Gulf Air Airbus A320 crashes with 143 people aboard in Bahrain International Airport.

2010 - 12-hour hostage stand-off on a bus in the Philippines ends in bloodshed with the death of at least eight tourists.

2013 - Twin explosions outside two mosques are killed at least 43 people in coordinated attacks in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.