Former New Zealand premier Muldoon dies
1992 - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon died. Prime Minister Jim Bolger said: “He will be remembered as a very strong, very vigorous politician.” Muldoon, who was prime minister from 1975 to 1984, dominated the New Zealand political scene for a long period. Muldoon, 70, went into hospital and died peacefully in his sleep, his wife Thea said. He became leader of the conservative National Party in 1974 after ousting then leader Sir Jack Marshall. He led the party to a landslide victory the following year and directed the country and his party in an almost autocratic style. Muldoon continued in office until 1984 when he miscalculated by calling a snap election. The Labour Party swept Muldoon out of office in that election.
August 5
1772 - Rulers of Russia, Prussia and Austria sign the first of three partitions ending Poland’s sovereign rule until 1918.
1861 - US federal government levies an income tax for the first time.
1949 - Earthquake in Ecuador kills 6,000.
1953 - Operation Big Switch takes place In Panmunjom, Korea, towards the end of the Korean War.
1962 - African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela is arrested for inciting a workers’ strike.
1963 - US, Britain and Soviet Union sign a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in atmosphere, space and under water.
1965 - New Zealand grants the South Pacific Cook Islands self-government.
1977 - Ten family members of the late Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie escape from house arrest in Addis Ababa and reach Sweden.
1984 - A Bangladesh airliner crashes in heavy rain while landing at Dhaka airport, killing all 49 passengers
1990 - US troops intervene in Liberia’s civil war to rescue about 70 Americans in Monrovia following hostage threat by rebels.
1991 - Soviet phenomenon Sergei Bubka breaks his own pole vault world record at Malmo, Sweden.
1992 - Nelson Mandela leads 100,000 blacks in Pretoria in a protest to end white rule.
1995 - US and Vietnam formally establish diplomatic ties.
1996 - US President Bill Clinton signs a bill to punish businesses that invest in Iran and Libya.
1999 - Dubai’s newest theme park, Wild Wadi, next to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, opens.
2000 - Dubai Millennium retires after suffering a severe fracture on his right hind leg.
2003 - A huge car bomb tear through one of the top hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 14 people in the second major attack.
2006 - The Taiwanese government breaks off diplomatic ties with Chad.
2008 - Netherlands’ striker Ruud van Nistelrooy retires from international football.
2009 - 87 people are missing after a ferry boat flips near the Pacific Ocean in the borders of Tonga.
2014 - Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez retires from international football.
2016 - Olympic flame is lit in Rio.
