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HistoryFile is collated and monitored by Julie Mullins. Please contact Julie if you have any queries or comments about this service.
Date Event Anniversary
August 18, 2011 Tension between Israel and Egypt increased after a series of attacks near the popular Israeli resort of Eilat killed eight Israelis and wounded more than 30. Israel believed the attackers, a group with links to Hamas, crossed into Israel from Egypt, despite denials from both Cairo and Gaza. The crisis escalated the following day when three Egyptian security officers near the border were inadvertently killed during Israeli airstrikes, threatening decades of peace between Israel and Egypt 2 years ago
August 18, 2011 Five people were killed on the first day of the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium when a severe thunderstorm caused extensive damage to several stages. At least 140 people were injured. The rest of the festival was cancelled. It was the second such disaster in a week, after five people died when strong winds swept through the Indiana State Fair in the U.S. on August 13 2 years ago
August 18, 2011 The governments of Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the U.S. all called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign for the first time. Switzerland, despite its policy of neutrality, recalled its ambassador and condemned the ongoing violence against Syrian protesters 2 years ago
August 18, 2010 The United States withdrew its last combat brigade from Iraq, more than seven years after the U.S.-led coalition invaded the country in a war that claimed the lives of over 4,000 US troops. The troops left Iraq two weeks before the August 31 deadline for the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom pledged by U.S. president Barack Obama on taking office 3 years ago
August 18, 2009 Kim Dae-jung, former South Korean President who pioneered his country’s “Sunshine Policy” of engagement with North Korea, died after suffering heart failure while being treated for pneumonia. Kim, who survived several attempts on his life, spent his life pursuing democracy and reunification with the North, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 4 years ago
August 18, 2008 Pervez Musharraf resigned as president of Pakistan, bringing down the curtain on a turbulent nine years in power to avoid the first impeachment in the nuclear-armed nation’s history. The key U.S. ally, who seized power in a 1999 coup, announced the move in a lengthy televised address, rejecting the charges against him but saying he wanted to spare Pakistan a damaging battle with the ruling coalition 5 years ago
August 18, 2008 Newly-crowned Olympic champion Rafael Nadal became the world’s top-ranked tennis player, ending Roger Federer’s four-and-a-half year reign as world number one 5 years ago
August 18, 2007 In parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party won 88 percent of the vote. All other parties failed to reach the seven percent needed for representation in the Majilis, or Kazakh parliament. Nazarbayev’s supporters claimed the poll showed the oil-producing Central Asian state was becoming more democratic but opposition leaders said there had been irregularities in the voting process 6 years ago
August 18, 2004 Oscar-winning American composer Elmer Bernstein, who wrote the scores of over 200 Hollywood films including "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Magnificent Seven" and "Ghostbusters" died at his home north of Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 82. An acclaimed master of the art of cinema music, Bernstein won 14 Oscar nominations, and took home the coveted statuette for the 1967 movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie" 9 years ago
August 18, 2004 Maoist rebels in Nepal declared a blockade on all roads leading to the capital, Kathmandu 9 years ago
August 18, 2003 A week after President Charles Taylor of Liberia flew into exile, representatives of the Liberian government, two rebel armies and unarmed opposition groups signed a peace agreement that provided for an interim government to be established in the African nation 10 years ago
August 18, 2003 Ma Li Hua of Singapore set a new world record for solo domino toppling after spending 45 days setting up 303,628 dominoes and four minutes knocking them down. The domino design stretched for 15km (9.3 miles), and Ma, 24, put in 13-hour days over seven weeks to set up the stunt, which at one point was nearly ruined when a cockroach knocked over 10,000 bricks. Ma’s effort smashed the previous record, which had stood for 19 years, by a massive 20,000 dominoes 10 years ago

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