1993 - Iraq has informed the Special Commission of the Security Council in Baghdad and the Commission’s chairman Rolf Ekeus that Iraq has agreed to permit UN chartered planes to fly in Iraqi airspace on January 15, 16, 17 and 18. The spokesman said, “Iraq has no objection to UN-chartered planes flying in its airspace.” The statement read to reporters in Baghdad came less than an hour before the latest deadline set by the US President George Bush said earlier Iraq must grant clearance for UN inspection teams to land by or it would not be in compliance with UN resolutions. At the UN, envoys from the US, Britain, France and Russia warned Iraq to give clearance to UN planes and also to remove police posts from Kuwaiti territory as soon as possible. Iraq’s UN representative said that Baghdad had agreed UN flights could resume although it could not guarantee their safety in the event of another allied military attack.
Other important events
1777 The people of New Connecticut declare their independence.
1892 The rules of basketball are published for the first time, in Springfield, Massachusetts
1919 Pianist and conductor Ignace Jan Paderewski becomes the first premier of newly created Republic of Poland.
1922 Irish Free State is established under Michael Collins.
1925 Hans Luther becomes Chancellor of Germany.
1966 Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, is overthrown and executed in a military coup.
1967 The first Super Bowl is played in the US.
1970 Biafran rebels in Nigeria surrender after a two-and-a-half year war.
1976 Sara Jane Moore is sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of US President Gerald Ford in San Francisco.
1979 Al Ahli Football Stadium in Dubai is officially inaugurated.
1986 Military coup deposes the government in Lesotho.
1989 Two crowded express trains collide in Dhaka killing at least 170 people and over 2,500 injured.
1990 Bulgarian Parliament abolishes Communist Party’s monopoly on power.
1992 Croatia and Slovenia win battle for international recognition as independent states.
1996 Lesotho king King Moshoeshoe II dies in car crash.
2000 Zeljko Raznatovic, a Serb paramilitary leader better known as Arkan, is shot and killed in a Belgrade hotel.
2001 Wikipedia, the online collaborative encyclopaedia, is officially launched.
2004 Indian and Pakistan resumes the train service after two years.
2005 Mahmoud Abbas is sworn in as Palestinian National Authority President.
2006 Kuwaiti Emir Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah dies after prolonged illness, at the age of 79.
2011 France’s right-wing firebrand Jean-Marie Le Pen bids adieu to the National Front party.
2012 A South Korean fuel tanker sinks after an explosion on board, leaving five crew members dead.
2013 A train carrying military conscripts derails southwest of Cairo killing 19 people and wounding 107.
2015 Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, become the first in the world to use only their hands and feet to scale El Capitan peak, in Yosemite National Park in California.
2017 A joint military exercises between UAE and British forces, dubbed ‘Sea Dagger 2017’ is launched.
