What happend on 22nd December

21.12
23.12
2001

Cc the cat, the first cloned pet, was born.

2001

Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.

2001

Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, handed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.

1999

Tandja Mamadou became President of Niger.

1999

The Spanish Civil Guard finds near Calatayud (Zaragoza) another van loaded by ETA with 750 kg of explosives (see related event on December 21, 1999).

1997

Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas were massacred by paramilitary forces.

1990

Lech Wałęsa sworn in as President of Poland

1989

Two Tourist coaches collide on the Pacific Highway north of Kempsey NSW (Kempsey Bus Crash).

1989

After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion Iliescu takes over as president of Romania, ending Nicolae CeauÅŸescu's Communist dictatorship.

1989

Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.