In 1979 the Leaders of Israel and Egypt sign a peace treaty, ending 30 years of conflict. President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister, Menachem Begin of Israel signed the peace treaty at the White House. President Anwar al-Sadat travelled to Israel to broker peace between the two nations despite the hatred it would cause against him in the rest of the Arab world. Then on the 5th of September 1958 the two leaders would once again meet at Camp David in the United States with President Jimmy Carter. Here they signed the ‘Camp David Accords’ on the 17th of September 1958 and this led to the signing of the peace treaty made on this day a year later. As part of the treaty Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt would officially recognise the state of Israel. Palestine was also recognised as having the right for Self-determination which is a concept created by the League of Nations which states that a country has the right to decide its own political system. The peace treaty gained both Prime Minister Begin and President Al-Sadat the Nobel Peace Prize but would later cost President Sadat his life when he was assassinated in 1981 by a Egyptian soldier that was outraged by the treaty.
In 1971 The elected President of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, declared the Independence of Bangladesh amidst ‘Operation Searchlight’ conducted by Pakistan and the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Pakistan held elections in 1970 and early 1971 (due to flooding in some areas) where the Anwar League won a large majority of seats. The Anwar league was headed by Sheikh Rahman and it called for independent governance of East Pakistan (at the time Pakistan controlled the region now known as Bangladesh and named the area East Pakistan). The President of Pakistan, Yahya Kahn, refused to recognise the election result and continued to forcibly control the area and ordered his men to "Kill three million of them (Bangladeshis) and the rest will eat out of our hands". His had planed ‘Operation Searchlight’ commenced on this day in 1971 which was set to take over control all major cities and eliminating any opposition. Despite the operation, Rahman was able to send out the declaration of Bengali Independence. An uprising began by the people of Bangladesh but the genocide of many hundreds of thousands of Bengali civilians continued over the next few months at the hands of Pakistan forces. Millions of refuges found sanctuary in India and on the 3rd of December 1971 India joined the Mukti Bahini (Bangladesh Liberation Army) against Pakistan. By the 16th of December 1971 Pakistan announced their unconditional surrender and Bangladesh won their freedom. It was a while before the international community recognised the sovereignty of Bangladesh. The United States had long supported Pakistan and in early December, President Nixon had threatened nuclear strikes against India, but the USSR had promised to defend India from the US.
She was executed on the 8th of February 1587. A year later King Phillip of Spain also wanted a catholic on the throne and had amassed a naval fleet called the ‘Spanish Armada’ which he sent to defeat the English. Elizabeth was a great public speaker and addressed her people about the impending battle, ‘I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king - and of a King of England too’ she proclaimed. A fleet led by Sir Francis Drake defeated the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth never married and never gave birth to an heir. When she died on this day in 1603 the son of Mary Queen of Scots became King James VI of England, Ireland and Scotland uniting the realm.
