Today in History, 12/11

Highlights in history on this date:

1923 - In Germany, Adolf Hitler is arrested for a failed attempt to seize power four days earlier.

1933 - Nazis dominate German elections.

1965 - UN Security Council calls on all nations to refuse recognition to Rhodesia after it unilaterally declares independence from Britain.

1968 - UN General Assembly votes against admission of Communist China.

1970 - At least 200,000 people are killed when a cyclone and tidal wave hit several districts of East Pakistann.

1974 - South Africa is suspended from the UN General Assembly over its racial policies.

1988 - At least 13 people are killed in racial violence in Sri Lanka.

1991 - Troops in East Timor fire on pro-independence demonstrators, killing dozens.

1993 - Pop star Michael Jackson cancels world tour, citing painkiller addiction.

1994 - US President Bill Clinton arrives in Asia to campaign for free trade and to commemorate World War II victories in the Pacific.

1995 - Shimon Peres replaces slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

1997 - Ramzi Yousef is convicted in New York of masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre.

1999 - In China, four members of the banned Falun Gong sect are convicted and sentenced to prison terms of up to 12 years.

2000 - Hijack drama on a Russian airliner ends after a mentally unstable man from the Russian republic of Dagestan held up the flight and forced the pilot to fly it to Israel. The 57 passengers and crew are released unhurt.

2001 - About 260 people on board an American Airlines Airbus A300 flight are killed when the plane crashes after taking off from John F Kennedy International airport, also killing five people on the ground.

2002 - In an audiotaped message aired across the Arab world, a voice purported to be that of Osama bin Laden praises terrorist strikes in Bali, Indonesia and Moscow and warns US allies against following the "oppressive American government" in the war against terror.

2003 - At least 31 people are killed and 100 others injured when a vehicle packed with explosives detonates outside the Italian military police station in Nasiriyah, Iraq.

2005 - Police clash with some 2000 neo-Nazis outside Germany's largest World War II soldiers cemetery, where the extremists had hoped to stage a demonstration in honour of the Nazi soldiers.

2006 - At least one person is dead when thousands of protesters demanding electoral reforms in Bangladesh target major transport links around Dhaka.

2007 - At least seven are killed and 85 wounded when Hamas security forces open fire on a rally by the Fatah movement in a Gaza City square.

2009 - US government prosecutors take steps to seize four US mosques and a New York skyscraper owned by a non-profit Muslim organisation long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

2010 - Supporters of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi hold a vigil on the eve of expiration of her house arrest order.

2011 - Silvio Berlusconi resigns as Italian prime minister, ending 17 years of his rule.

2012 - The Australian government announces a royal commission into the handling of child sexual abuse by religious and other organisations will be appointed by the end of the year.

2013 - Israel's prime minister abruptly halts a plan to explore the potential construction of thousands of new homes in West Bank settlements.

2014 - The United States and China announces an action plan on greenhouse emissions as part of a "historic" pact acclaimed by climate scientists and denounced by US Republicans as a job-killer.

2015 - One of Australia's most wanted men, Kenneth Cook, who is wanted in relation to alleged historical child sexual offences in Queensland, is caught by police in Kalgoorlie, WA.

2016 - An estimated record half a million protesters pack into the streets of Seoul to demand the resignation of South Korean President Park Guen-hye.

2017 - The Victorian government announces "cutting-edge" stroke ambulances will hit Melbourne streets in a new trial.

Today's Birthdays:

Princess Grace of Monaco (1929-1982); Charles Manson, US cult leader and convicted murderer (1934-2017); Neil Young, Canadian singer (1945-); Naomi Wolf, American author and feminist (1962-); Tonya Harding, US ice-skater (1970-); Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor (1980-); Anne Hathaway, American actress (1982-); Jason Day, Australian golfer (1987-).

Thought For Today:

Don't be a pal to your son. Be his father. What child needs a 40-year-old for a friend? - Al Capp, American cartoonist (1909-1979).

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