12 July 1990: Yeltsin Resignation Splits Soviet Communist Party
The populist politician and president of the Russian parliament, Boris Yeltsin, has resigned from the Soviet Communist Party. The resignation has also led to a declaration from the small but influential radical reform group Democratic Platform that they would also break away. The split leaves Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev with a party in tatters.
It was thought that Mr. Gorbachev had appeased the reformers by ensuring the defeat of hard-line conservative Yegor Ligachev in the race for the deputy leadership yesterday. His favoured candidate, the pro-reform Vladimir Ivashko, was elected instead.
The departure of a group of Democratic Platform delegates less than an hour later confirmed the split - the first since the Bolshevik-Menshevik divide which put Lenin in power in 1903. Among those leaving are the popular new mayor of Leningrad, Anatoly Sobchak, and the mayor of Moscow, Gavriil Popov.
Mr. Yeltsin has been a figurehead for radical reform of the party system for the last 18 months, and has been a trenchant critic of President Gorbachev for not going far enough with party reforms.
Despite that, he has remained at the centre of the Communist Party structure. His name was put forward for inclusion in the new Central Committee to be chosen this evening.


14 July 1958: Coup in Iraq Sparks Jitters in Middle East
A group of Iraqi army officers have staged a coup in Iraq and overthrown the monarchy.
Baghdad Radio announced the Army has liberated the Iraqi people from domination by a corrupt group put in power by "imperialism".
From now on Iraq would be a republic that would "maintain ties with other Arab countries". It said some 12,000 Iraqi troops based in neighbouring Jordan have been ordered to return.
Baghdad Radio also announced that Crown Prince Abdul Illah and Nuri es Said, prime minister of the Iraq-Jordan Federation, had been assassinated. It said the body of the Crown Prince, the powerful uncle of 23-year-old King Faisal, was hanging outside the Defence Ministry for all to see.
Reports from the US Embassy in Baghdad say the British Embassy has been ransacked and set on fire. The ambassador, Sir Michael Wright, and his wife were held at the embassy until late this afternoon when they were released. They are now in a Baghdad hotel.
While Iraqis are celebrating on the streets of Baghdad, the news is a cause for concern for western powers worried about their oil interests and instability in the region.
The US President Dwight D Eisenhower is said to be "extremely disturbed" by the Iraqi revolt and has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council.

19 July 1996: 'War Criminal' Karadzic Resigns
The Bosnian Serb President, Radovan Karadzic, has agreed to resign and withdraw from political and public life. He was ordered to step down by the Yugolsav President, Slobodan Milosevic, after marathon talks with the United States special envoy, Richard Holbrooke.
Mr. Karadzic is currently a fugitive after an arrest warrant was issued for him last week by the International War Crimes Tribunal.
He was indicted last year, along with his army chief, Ratko Mladic, for crimes of genocide and other atrocities.
Mr. Karadzic will be replaced by his deputy president, Biljana Plavsic, a Serb nationalist. The news was greeted cautiously by other international mediators, who have been struggling for six months to oust Mr. Karadzic.

16 July 1969: Apollo 11 Takes off for the Moon
The Apollo 11 space rocket has taken off successfully from Cape Kennedy, Florida, at the start of the first attempt to land a man on the Moon. An estimated one million people gathered from all over the state to see the giant Saturn 5 booster rocket blast off.
Nine seconds before lift-off, the rocket's five engines ignited, sending a sheet of flame over the launch pad and about 20 acres of the surrounding marshland.
Then with an immense roar, the booster rocket took off into the sky, taking Apollo 11 and the hopes of the world with it. It is the first time human beings have attempted to land on another heavenly body. Almost 12 minutes later, Apollo 11 went into orbit around the Earth.
On board are three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. All have already flown in space during the Gemini manned space missions, and have been intensively training as a team for many months. They carry with them goodwill messages from the heads of the member states of the United Nations and their flags.
Two hours and 44 minutes after take-off, the engine of the third-stage booster was fired for five minutes and 47 seconds, and the speed increased to 24,545mph (39,500 km/h) to take the astronauts out of orbit and shoot them off to the Moon.

19 July 1965: S. Korea's First President Dies in Exile
The former leader of the Republic of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, has died in exile in the US state of Hawaii at the age of 90.
In 1948 Mr. Rhee became South Korea's first president after elections in which he gained 180 of the 196 votes of National Assembly members. Mr. Rhee spent much of his life in the US after leaving Korea in 1904.
Prior to his departure he had spent seven years in jail for leading demonstrations against the Korean monarchy. He returned briefly to Korea in 1910 when it was under Japanese control but, after clashing with the new leadership, left again to head a Korean Government in exile.
Syngman Rhee did not return until Japan's defeat in the Second World War and the occupation of Korea by American and Soviet troops. In 1948 the country was divided at the 38th parallel and the Soviet Union set up a Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north while the US helped establish the Republic of Korea in the south.
Mr Rhee emerged as the main anti-communist politician in South Korea and in 1947 he received the unofficial support of the US Government in his bid to become president. Although first elected on a popular mandate Mr. Rhee's style became increasingly autocratic.
In 1954 he forced through amendments to the South Korean constitution to allow him to extend his term of office indefinitely. However, in 1960 he was forced into a final exile after public unrest over election fraud which saw him returned to office with a massive majority.

17 July 1976: African Countries Boycott Olympics
The opening ceremony of the 21st Olympic Games in Montreal has been marred by the withdrawal of 25 African countries. They are all protesting at New Zealand's sporting links with South Africa.
The International Olympic Committee's refusal to ban New Zealand, whose rugby team is currently touring South Africa, has resulted in the boycott. South Africa has been banned from the Olympics since 1964 for its refusal to condemn apartheid.
A spokesperson for the New Zealand Olympic Committee said the All Blacks tour of South Africa had been arranged by the New Zealand Rugby Union which was an autonomous body and nothing to do with the Olympics.
He said it was illogical to single out New Zealand as it was one of 26 countries to have played sport in South Africa during the past year. More than 300 competitors will now not take part in the Games which will mean many events will have to be cancelled or re-scheduled.
Athletics events will be particularly affected by the absence of Filbert Bayi from Tanzania, who holds the world record in the 1500m and John Akii-Bua of Uganda, world record-holder in the 400 metres hurdles.
Approximately 20 of the 26 countries who have withdrawn from the competition had already travelled to Montreal but will now return home.
The list of those boycotting the Olympics is: Libya, Iraq, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, Gambia, Sudan, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Algeria, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad, Togo, Niger, Congo, Mauritius, Upper Volta and Malawi. There are already fears the Commonwealth Games due to be held in Edmonton, Canada in two years time will be affected by the African boycott.