Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime.

King Gyanendra of Nepal gives into the demands of protesters and restores the parliament that he dissolved in 2002.

Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog is born in South Korea.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.

The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.

In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is introduced.

An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London.

Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.

STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. thumb lifts off, carrying Hubble into orbit.]]

Triple Six Fix

Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.

Soyuz 10 docks with Salyut 1.

The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as the first President.

The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.

Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations.

Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily."

Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.

Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño, overthrows the triumvirate that had been in power since the coup d'état against Juan Bosch.

Marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.

The 17th century Swedish ship Vasa is salvaged.

A severe earthquake shakes Lar in Fars province, Iran and kills more than 200 people.

Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.

The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.

Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.

First tank-to-tank combat, at Villers-Bretonneux, France, when three British Mark IVs met three German A7Vs.

Easter Rising: The Irish Republican Brotherhood led by nationalists Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, and Joseph Plunkett starts a rebellion in Ireland.

The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.

The Woolworth Building skyscraper in New York City is opened.

Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened.

The Lithuanian press ban is lifted after almost 40 years.

The Spanish-American War: The United States declares war on Spain.

Russo-Turkish War: Russian Empire declares war on Ottoman Empire.

American Civil War: A flotilla commanded by Union Admiral David Farragut passes two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River on its way to capture New Orleans, Louisiana.

The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 USD to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".

The first regular newspaper in the United States, the ''News-Letter'', is published in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.