1945-Allies refuse Japan's offer to surrender on the condition that Emperor Hirohito retains his status
1954-Formal peace treaty ends over 7 yrs of fighting in Indochina between the French and the Communist Viet Minh
1988-Al-Qaeda formed at a meeting between Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Dr Fadl in Peshawar, Pakistan
1989-Voyager 2 discovers two partial rings of Neptune
2003-NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year history