BBC ON THIS DAY

1989: Dozens die as plane crashes on motorway

A Boeing 737 airplane crashes onto the M1 motorway near East Midlands airport, killing 46 people.

1996: France's former president Mitterrand dies
France mourns its longest serving president Francois Mitterrand who died today.

CCTV footage of James Bulger being led away by older boy

2001: Bulger killers win anonymity for life
The identities and whereabouts of the two boys who murdered toddler James Bulger in 1993 will be kept secret for the rest of their lives, the High Court has ruled.

1991: One dead as train crashes into buffers
One person dies and hundreds are injured when a commuter train from Kent crashes into buffers at Cannon Street station in London.

1961: French vote for Algerian freedom
The French people vote to grant Algeria its independence in a referendum after seven years of guerilla war.

1979: Vietnam forces Khmer Rouge retreat
Hundreds of Khmer Rouge troops are fleeing Cambodia after being crushed by Vietnamese-led rebel forces.

1959: De Gaulle becomes president
General Charles de Gaulle is proclaimed first President of the new Fifth Republic in France during a brief ceremony at the Elys�e Palace in Paris.

Around this Day

5 January

Top Story1985: Israel ends major Ethiopian rescue mission

6 January

Top Story1994: Mystery assailant attacks top US skater

7 January

Top Story1976: Iceland and Britain clash at sea

9 January

Top Story1986: Heseltine quits over Westland

10 January

Top Story1991: Last ditch efforts to avoid Gulf War

11 January