Angola leader Savimbi dies in a gunbattle
2002 - The Angola’s government displayed the body of longtime rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, killed in a gunbattle with army soldiers, and urged his followers to surrender so that two-decade civil war could come to an end. Footage of the body of Savimbi, a guerrilla fighter who has led the Unita rebel group for more than 30 years, was broadcast on Televisao Popular de Angola. It was filmed in a remote village near where he was killed by the army. The body was clearly recognisable as that of Savimbi. The body, in combat fatigues apparently stained by blood, was placed on a makeshift table beneath a tree. What appeared to be a gunshot wound was visible on Savimbi’s neck. Savimbi’s death could leave a Unita movement weakened, but still able to prolong Africa’s longest-running war, analysts said.
February 22
1819 - Spain cedes Florida to the US.
1848 - A revolt erupts in Paris due to failure of Louis Philippe’s reign.
1862 - American Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as Confederate President.
1924 - Calvin Coolidge delivers the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House.
1966 - Uganda’s Prime Minister Milton Obote orders five cabinet members arrested and assumes full power.
1972 - Shaikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani becomes Emir and Prime Minister of Qatar.
1980 - Afghanistan declares martial law.
1986 - Philippines armed forces break with the government of President Ferdinand Marcos, precipitating his downfall.
1987 - Thousands of Syrian troops backed by tanks enter west Beirut in response to an appeal by Lebanese Muslim leaders.
1990 - Last statue of Joseph Stalin is toppled in Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator.
1997 - Fleeing fighting, 30,000 refugees from Rwanda and Burundi leave their refugee camp in eastern Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo).
1998 - Tamil separatist rebel gunboats attack a 12-ship convoy carrying soldiers to northern Sri Lanka, killing up to 80 people.
2004 - A suicide bomber kills eight passengers on a packed bus in occupied Jerusalem.
2006 - Blast damages historic Shiite shrine in Iraq, sparking sectarian reprisals.
2007 - UN nuclear watchdog announces findings that Iran has expanded its uranium enrichment programme.
2008 - Turkish President Abdullah Gul approves a landmark constitutional reform allowing female students to wear the headscarf at university.
2009 - 73 miners are killed and dozens are missing after a gas blast at a coal plant in Shanxi Province, China.
2011 - At least 160 are killed by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
2012 - American journalist Marie Colvin and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik are killed in a shelling attack at a makeshift press centre in Homs, Syria.
2013 - Tunisian Interior Minister Ali Larayedh is to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.
2014 - Venus Williams wins her third Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open title and her 45th singles career crown.
