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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.

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 Story: 1985: Israel ends major Ethiopian rescue mission

6 January
Top Story: 1994: Mystery assailant attacks top US skater

7 January
Top Story: 1976: Iceland and Britain clash at sea

9 January
Top Story: 1986: Heseltine quits over Westland

10 January
Top Story: 1991: Last ditch efforts to avoid Gulf War

11 January
Top Story: 1962: Thousands killed in Peru landslide

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