Pakistan election offices are hit by twin bombings, killing at least 24 people a day before general elections.
North Korea launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into outer space violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world.
Scientists announce that the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, date back to more than 800,000 years ago, making them the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa.
The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995.
President Mohamed Nasheed of the Republic of Maldives resigns, after 23 days of anti-governmental protests calling for the release of the Chief Judge unlawfully arrested by the military.
Bushfires in Victoria leave 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.
Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-98, carrying the Destiny laboratory module to the International Space Station.
Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.
Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union.
Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.
The Troubles: The Provisional IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street in London, the headquarters of the British government.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.
Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.
Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission: astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).
A plane crash at Pushkin Airport kills 50 people, including 16 members of the Pacific Fleet.
Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered.
Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.
The Great Fire of Iloilo breaks out in a lumber yard in Iznart Street and burns for almost half a day destroying nearly three-quarters of the City Proper area and Php 50 million pesos in total properties' damage.