India bans communal groups
1992 - The Indian government banned two key allies of the Hindu-revivalist opposition as the death toll from Hindu-Muslim bloodletting topped 950. It also said it would seek leftist help to battle a surge of Hindu nationalism in the wake of the violence sparked by the destruction of the Babri mosque by Hindu zealots in Ayodhya. Acting on a promise by Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao after the mosque was reduced to rubble, the government banned three Hindu and two Muslim organisations. All five groups had promoted “disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religions”, a government spokesman said. By far the most significant of the bans was on two allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition in parliament.
December 10
1817 - Mississippi becomes the 20th state of the United States.
1898 - The Treaty of Paris is signed, formally ending the Spanish-American War.
1906 - US President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1931 - Jane Addams becomes a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the first American woman to be honoured with the award.
1948 - UN General Assembly in Paris unanimously adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
1958 - The first domestic passenger jet flight takes place in the US as a National Airlines Boeing 707 flies 111 passengers from New York City to Miami.
1963 - Zanzibar becomes independent within the Commonwealth.
1964 - Dr Martin Luther King Jr receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
1967 - World’s first commercial thermonuclear blast takes place in the US state of New Mexico.
1979 - Government of Dubai takes over Dubai Electricity Company.
1983 - Democracy returns after seven years of dictatorship in Argentina, as Raul Alfonsin is sworn in as President.
1991 - The Maastricht Treaty, which established the European Union, is agreed by the leaders of 12 European nations.
1996 - South African President Nelson Mandela signs a new constitution.
1997 - Palestinians begin their first census in West Bank and Gaza Strip.
2000 - Romanians vote in a final presidential election round.
2002 - Former US President Jimmy Carter receives the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
2003 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami hold first meeting in 24 years in Geneva.
2007 - Cristina Fernandez is sworn in as Argentina’s first elected female President.
2008 - US-led air raid kills six policemen by mistake in Afghanistan.
2014 - Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ain dies in Israeli forces assault during a protest march in the occupied West Bank.
2015 - Mauricio Macri takes office as Argentina’s new President.
