HISTORY AT A GLANCE

TODAY is Saturday, December 30, the 364th day of 2017. There are 1 day left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:

1944 – King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving

the throne vacant. 1947 – King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union-backed Communist government of Romania. 1958 – The Guatemalan Air Force sinks several Mexican fishing boats alleged to have breached maritime borders, killing three and sparking international tension. 1965 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the

Philippines. 1972 – Vietnam War: The United States halts heavy bombing

of North Vietnam. 1993 – Israel and Vatican City establish diplomatic relations. 1996 – Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel. 1997 – In the worst incident in Algeria’s insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people from four villages are killed. 2000 – Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines within a period of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about a hundred. 2004 – A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos

Aires, Argentina kills 194. 2006 – Madrid–Barajas Airport is bombed. 2006 – The Indonesian passenger ferry MV Senopati Nusantara sinks in a storm, resulting in at least 400 deaths. 2006 – Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed. 2009 – A segment of the Lanzhou–Zhengzhou–Changsha pipeline ruptures in Shaanxi, China, and approximately 150,000 l (40,000 US gal) of diesel oil flows down the Wei River before finally reaching the Yellow River. 2009 – A suicide bomber kills nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan. 2011 – Owing to a change of time zone the day is skipped in

Samoa and Tokelau. 2013 – More than 100 people are killed when anti-government forces attack key buildings in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.