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Colombian President Ernesto Samper makes an amazing offer of resignation to improve his country's relations with the United States.
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Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas
Accused of idolatry and not being Islamic by the Taliban who rule Afghanistan, the world is shaken by the dynamite blast that causes the total destruction of two giant 1500-year-old statues representing the Buddhas Vairocana and Skyamuni. Of 55 and 37 meters of height respectively, they were among the most important cultural sites of the region and had been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. -
Simultaneous attacks against the twin towers.
2,976 people die when four planes are hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists in a coordinated attack in the US Two planes crash into the world trade center in New York. -
George Harrison dies.
The cancer suffered by Harrison reappeared in 2001, being diagnosed as metastasis. In spite of the aggressive treatments, he soon discovered that he was terminal, deciding immediately to spend his last days as a family and work on some projects to be later finished by his widow and son. -
Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped
Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Bethancourt is kidnapped by FARC rebels while campaigning in areas under the control of the FARC, despite warnings from the government and the military. Holder of a dual Gallo-Colombian nationality and connections throughout the world, the kidnapping of Betancourt generated worldwide coverage and numerous international efforts to secure his release. -
Death of the Queen Mother
Born on August 4, 1900, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother, ruled the United Kingdom and British dominions from 1936 to 1952 and was the last Queen of Ireland and Empress of India. Turned into Queen when her husband was crowned King as George VI after the abdication of Edward VIII, which led Adolf Hitler to describe her as "the most dangerous woman in Europe". -
Bomb attack on trains in Madrid
Three days before the general elections in Spain, ten explosives detonate on four suburban trains in Madrid during peak hours with two-minute intervals, killing 191 people and wounding 1,800. Initially awarded to the Basque separatist group ETA, then the al-Qaeda Islamist group emerged as responsible. -
Olympic Games of Athens
The Olympics returned to Greece for the first time since 1896, with the US to the top of the medal table, followed by China and Russia. The last facilities of the games were just completed a few weeks after the start, after a full construction of delays and costs. The swimmer Michael Phelps takes a record of eight medals - six gold and two bronze - being the most successful Olympic athlete of all time. -
Death of Pope John Paul II
One billion Catholics in the world are mourning when the death of Pope John Paul II is announced, almost 27 years after his elevation as head of the Roman Catholic Church, the second longest pontificate in history. He was one of the world leaders who traveled the most in history, having visited 129 countries, spoken at least 11 languages, consolidated as one of the most beloved and recognized figures of recent times. -
Bombing in London on 7/7.
With the G8 meeting in Scotland, four Islamist suicide bombers detonated their explosives on three underground trains and a rush hour bus, killing 56 (including firefighters) and injuring more than 700. Amid the confusion, the center London stopped suddenly. Two weeks later, on July 21, when the city was just beginning to recover, four attempts at bombing took place in the London subway, although the devices did not explode. -
Hurricane Katrina
The sixth strongest Atlantic hurricane ever occurred in the midst of the most active hurricane season in the records causing widespread devastation in the Gulf of Mexico, from Florida to Texas. Kill at least 1,836 people (with later 705 missing) and destroy the city of New Orleans. -
Saddam Hussein is executed.
The former dictator is hanged at an Iraqi army base northeast of Baghdad after being found guilty of crimes against humanity by ordering the death of 148 people, torturing women and children and illegally arresting another 399 people in the town of Dujail in 1982, after a failed assassination attempt against him. -
The last book in the Harry Potter series is published
Ten years after the release of the first book in the series that became a startling sensation, the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is being edited around the world simultaneously. Sells 15 million copies in the first 24 hours shattering the record sales of 9 million in a day, established by the previous book -
Barack Obama elected.
The USA. They elect their first black president when Democrat Barack Obama defeats Republican John McCain by more than 10 million votes. A truly historic moment for the US civil rights movement, the election of Obama is greeted with jubilation around the world as a mark of the eight-year end of the unpopular Bush's term, promising a change in foreign policy and a possible end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. -
Michael Jackson died.
The most commercially successful artist of all time, the king of pop, Michael Jackson, about to begin a series of concerts back after his acquittal for sexual abuse of a child in 2005, collapses and dies from cardiac arrest at 50 years of age. His death sparks a wave of pain among his millions of fans and the live broadcast of his funeral attracts an estimated audience of one billion people. -
Haiti earthquake
According to the geological service of the United States, the earthquake would have had a magnitude of 7.0 degrees and would have been generated at a depth of 10 kilometers. -
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
On April 20, 2010, there was the explosion and fire of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform that sank on April 22, 2010 causing an uncontrollable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is causing huge damages of complicated and slow repair. -
The rescue of Chilean miners
The collapse of the San José mine was an accident on Thursday, August 5, 2010, which left 33 miners trapped for 70 days at a depth of 700 meters, at the site located 30 km northwest of the Chilean city of Copiapó. exploited by the company San Esteban Primera SA. -
Earthquake and tsunami of Japan
It was an earthquake of magnitude 9 MW that created waves of tsunami or tsunamis of up to 10 m. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the sea, off the coast of Honshu, 130 km east of Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture, Japan.
