Today in History, December 31

Highlights in history on this date:

1966 - US says it will halt bombing of North Vietnam when Hanoi gives assurance that it will discuss peace terms seriously.

1974 - Private US citizens are allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.

1986 - About 97 people are killed and 140 injured in a fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

1987 - Violent protests erupt in Jerusalem's West Bank as Palestinians prepare to observe the January 1 anniversary of the PLO's main guerrilla group.

1988 - India and Pakistan agree not to attack each others' nuclear facilities.

1990 - About 18 terrorists belonging to Yasser Arafat's Al Fatah faction are killed when Israeli air force attacks a Palestinian Liberation Organisation's base in Lebanon.

1991 - Representatives of North Korea and South Korea agree not to use nuclear weapons.

1994 - A New Year's Eve assault by Russian forces on Grozny, Chechnya, produces one of the bloodiest days of the war. Both sides claim success.

1997 - Hong Kong authorities finish up the slaughter of 1.3 million chickens and other fowl to prevent an outbreak of a deadly strain of bird flu in humans.

1998 - Eleven European nations usher in the New Year and the euro.

1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin announces his resignation.

2002 - Asylum-seekers being detained at the Villawood detention centre in western Sydney riot and set fires.

2003 - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that an outbreak of influenza reached epidemic levels in 45 states and has already killed at least 42 children.

2004 - About 186 people are killed and hundreds injured when concert-goers try to escape a fire in a nightclub with locked doors that block or slow the exit in Brazil.

2005 - British subway workers walk out in a 24-hour strike, disrupting the London Underground as tens of thousands of revellers throng in the capital to celebrate the New Year.

2006 - Nine bombs explode across Bangkok as the Thai capital celebrates New Year's Eve, killing two people.

2011 - Yemen's outgoing president decides to stay in the country, reversing plans to leave in an apparent attempt to salvage his control over the regime.

2012 - Pakistan releases eight members of the Afghan Taliban from prison, including the former justice minister under the Taliban, in a bid to boost the peace process in neighbouring Afghanistan.

2014 - About 35 people are killed and dozens injured during a stampede on New Year's eve in Shanghai.

2014 - More than 50 people are killed in landslides and flooding in the Philippines when tropical storm Jangmi ravishes the country.

2015 - Hundreds of thousands of people gather in major cities around the world to celebrate the arrival of 2016 with fireworks displays under the ongoing threat of terrorism attacks.

2016 - Up to 80 people are confirmed injured in the crush of bodies that could have turned fatal when revellers tried to leave Australian rock-band DMA's concert at Victoria's Falls Festival before midnight the night before.

Today's Birthdays:

Henri Matisse, French artist-sculptor (1869-1954); Anthony Hopkins, English actor (1937-); Alex Ferguson, British football manager (1941-); Ben Kingsley, British actor (1943-); Donna Summer, US singer (1948-2012); Val Kilmer, US actor (1959-); Psy, South Korean pop star (1977-); Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player (1980-).

Thought For Today:

The past at least is secure. - Daniel Webster, American statesman (1782-1862).

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