Bulgarians vote for new president
1996 - Bulgarians, mired in the legacy of Communism, voted for a new president. The largely agricultural nation of just 8.4 million people was holding its second presidential election since the fall of communism in 1989. After a slow start, turnout was brisk as most of the country basked in bright Autumn sunshine. A big defeat for the candidate of the ruling Socialist party, Culture Minister Ivan Marazov, could be deeply embarrassing for the government of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov, already under fire for dragging its feet on reform. Many voters said they were supporting the main opposition candidate, lawyer Petar Stoyanov (above), but the Socialists retain a faithful following of mostly elderly voters.
October 27
1806 - France’s Napoleon Bonaparte occupies Berlin.
1807 - Spain and France agree to conquer Portugal.
1810 - The United States annexes western Florida from Spain.
1871 - Britain annexes the diamond fields of Kimberly, South Africa.
1904 - First rapid transit subway opens in New York City.
1922 - Southern Rhodesia referendum rejects joining the Union of South Africa.
1938 - DuPont announces the invention of nylon, a synthetic yarn.
1954 - Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the US Air Force.
1955 - Egypt and Saudi Arabia sign a joint defence agreement in Cairo.
1966 - The UN General Assembly proclaims termination of South Africa’s mandate over Southwest Africa.
1971 - Republic of Congo-Kinshasa becomes Republic of Zaire.
1973 - UN peacekeeping forces arrive in Cairo to set up a ceasefire between Israeli and Arab forces.
1982 - Oman and South Yemen agree to establish diplomatic ties.
1987 - South Korean voters approve of a new constitution designed to bring full democracy.
1990 - Askar Akayev becomes the first President of Kyrgyzstan.
1998 - Hurricane Mitch kills more than 7,000 people in Honduras, Nicaragua and other Central American countries.
1998 - Gerhard Schroeder is sworn in as German chancellor.
1999 - Armenian Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian is assassinated
2002 - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva becomes Brazil’s first leftist President.
2003 - Five coordinated suicide bombing attacks kill at least 35 people in Baghdad.
2006 - Pakistan’s former president Gulam Ishaq Khan dies after a prolonged illness, at the age of 91.
2007 - Bowler Naif Ogab wins the UAE’s first gold medal at the Asian Indoor Games in Macau.
2010 - Ras Al Khaimah Ruler His Highness Shaikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi dies after ruling the emirate for more than 60 years.
2013 - Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central is officially inaugurated.
