COL Ngan Bong Linh Dan

Events in 2001 and 18-3

Events in the world in the birth year of Ngan Bong Linh Dan

• Congo president Laurent Kabila assassinated by bodyguard (Jan. 16). Son Joseph Kabila takes over amid continuing civil war.
• Ariel Sharon wins election in Israel (Feb. 6). Right-wing leader chosen overwhelmingly as nation's fifth prime minister in just over five years during worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in years. Background: Middle East.
• The long-simmering resentment of Macedonia's ethnic Albanians erupts into violence in March. The rebels seek greater autonomy within Macedonia. After six months of fighting, a peace agreement is signed (Aug. 13). British-led NATO forces enter the country and disarm the guerrillas. Background: Macedonia and the Balkans.
• U.S. spy plane and Chinese jet collide (April 2); Sino-American relations deteriorate during a standoff. The 24 crew members of the U.S. plane were detained for 11 days and released after the U.S. issued a formal statement of regret.
• Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic is delivered to UN tribunal in The Hague to await war-crime trial (June 29).
• Without U.S., 178 nations reach agreement on climate accord, which rescues, though dilutes, 1997 Kyoto Protocol (July 23).
• In response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. and British forces launch bombing campaign on Taliban government and al-Qaeda terrorist camps in Afghanistan (Oct. 7). Bombings continue on a daily basis. Background: Afghanistan.
• Irish Republican Army announces that it has begun to dismantle its weapons arsenal, marking a dramatic leap forward in Northern Ireland peace process (Oct. 23). Background: Northern Ireland Primer.
• At a UN-sponsored summit in Bonn, Germany, Afghani factions meet to create a post-Taliban government (Nov. 27). Hamid Karzai is selected as head of the transitional government (Dec. 5). Background: Who's Who in Afghanistan.
• Taliban regime in Afghanistan collapses after two months of bombing by American warplanes and fighting by Northern Alliance ground troops (Dec. 9).
• Israel condemns the Palestinian Authority as a "terror-supporting entity" and severs ties with leader Yasir Arafat following mounting violence against Israelis (Dec. 3). The Israeli Army begins bombing Palestinian areas. Background: Middle East.

Birthday Ngan Bong Linh Dan (18-3) in history

• Day 18-3 year 1584: Russian tsar Ivan IV, or "Ivan, the tyrant", died in Moscow, Russia, at 53.
• Day 18-3 year 1766: Britain repealed the American Colonial Stamp Act after months of protests from the Americans.
• Day 18-3 year 1925: The most violent single tornado in U.S. history, the “Tri-State Tornado,” hit Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois, killing 689 people and injuring 13,000 others.
• Day 18-3 year 1963: The Supreme Court held in Gideon v. Wainwright that public defenders must be provided for indigent defendants in felony cases.
• Day 18-3 year 1965: Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov made the first spacewalk.
• Day 18-3 year 1967: The oil tanker Torrey Canyon was wrecked off the Cornish coast of England, spilling 919,000 barrels of oil into the sea.
• Day 18-3 year 1990: The biggest art theft in U.S. history occurs at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The works, including pieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt, were never recovered.
• Day 18-3 year 2004: A small asteroid made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded, only about 26,500 miles away.
• Day 18-3 year 2005: After a long legal battle, Terry Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. She died 13 days later.