1938

Death of Vietnamese poet Nguyen Nhuoc Phap, famed for his work Chua Huong (Perfume Pagoda).

1942

Soviet Red Army troops begin a massive counter-offensive against the Germans at Stalingrad.

1946

The first UNESCO conference opens in Paris at which the organisation attains full status as an agency.

1958

Signing of the first trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Kingdom of Cambodia.

1969

The US Apollo 12 lunar module lands on the moon, carrying astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean.

1990

Leaders of NATO and the Warsaw Pact declare the end of the Cold War by signing the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, slashing their Cold War arsenals.

1997

Viet Nam is officially linked to the internet.

2002

An oil tanker carrying 20 million gallons of fuel oil breaks in two and sinks in the Atlantic Ocean, threatening a spill nearly twice as big as the Exxon Valdez's and an environmental catastrophe along the Spanish coastline.

2004

Sudanese government and rebel officials again pledge to end the 21-year civil war in southern Sudan – this time making the pledge before the UN Security Council.

2006

Russia and the United States sign a key trade agreement, removing the last major obstacle in Moscow's 13-year journey to join the World Trade Organisation.

2007

The UN-backed genocide tribunal in Cambodia arrests the former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan, 76, following his release from a hospital in the capital.

2008

The recent commitments on global warming by US President-elect Barack Obama mark a new beginning for world negotiations to replace the Kyoto Protocol, the head of the UN's climate change body Yvo de Boer says. — AP/REUTERS/VNS