FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2009

Today is Friday, January 9, the ninth day of 2009. There are 356 days left in the year.

1558 _ Geneva becomes independent from Berne canton, Switzerland

1570 _ Tsar Ivan the Terrible kills 1,000-2,000 residents of Novgorod

1945 _ U.S. soldiers led by General Douglas MacArthur invade Philippines

1953 _ Korean ferryboat ``Chang Pyong-Ho" sank off Busan killing 249

1969 _ Concorde jetliner's first test flight (Bristol England)

1970 _ Constitution of Singapore enacted

1980 _ 63 beheaded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

1983 _ British P.M. Margaret Thatcher visits the Falkland Islands

1987 _ Chinese-Vietnamese border fights, 1500 killed

1998 _ Decapitated head of Danish Little Mermaid is returned