Unix Timestamp: 979430400
Sunday, January 14. 2001, 12:00:00 AM UTC

Arab Spring: The Tunisian government falls after a month of increasingly violent protests PresidentZine El Abidine Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.ref name=autogenerated1

Thousands of people protest across the country demanding the resignation of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. //www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12189535 (BBC)

January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides:

Steve Jobs takes a six-month medical leave of absence as CEO of Apple Inc. //money.cnn.com/2009/01/14/technology/apple_jobs/index.htm (CNN)

Somali pirates release two ships off the coast of East Africa. //edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/01/13/somalia.piracy/index.html (CNN)

At 19:04:39 UTC, the MESSENGERspace probe is at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury.

MESSENGER, a NASA mission, flies by Mercury, the second spacecraft to do so and the first in thirty-three years. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7183846.stm (BBC News)

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopts the Red Crystal as a non-religious emblem for use in its overseas operations.

The Red Crystal is recognized as an official symbol of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6260353.stm (BBC)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas tells United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he opposes the establishment of a provisional Palestinian state with temporary borders. //edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/14/rice.mideast.ap/index.html (CNN)

The Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.

War on Terrorism: Three more suspects have been arrested in Manchester in England in connection with the investigation into ricin found in London, although it now appears as though the raid was initially carried out as the pursuance of an investigation into immigration issues. A Special Branch police officer, Stephen Oake, was fatally stabbed during the arrests, and three other officers were also injured, one seriously. This brings the total of those arrested to fourteen.

The asylum case of Adelaide Abankwah is heard in New York.

A United Nations tribunal sentences five Bosnian Croats up to 25 years for the 1993

Jorge Saio is elected president of Portugal.

U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords, which stop the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles toward each country's targets, and also provide for the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal in Ukraine.

The Polish ferry M/S "Jan Heweliusz" sinks off the coast of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, killing 54 people.

The PolishferryM/S \'\'Jan Heweliusz\'\' sinks off the coast of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, killing 54 people.

January 15 ndash The body of former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda, following his death from cancer.

Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom) opens at Walt Disney World and to this day remains one of the parks most popular attractions.

International Women\'s Year is launched in Britain by Princess Alexandra and Barbara Castle.

Portugal announces that it will grant independence to Angola on November 11.

Heiress Lesley Whittle, 17, is kidnapped from her home in Shropshire, England by Donald Neilson.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark succeeds her father, King Frederick IX, on the throne of Denmark.

Seventy Brazilian political prisoners are released in Santiago, Chile. Giovanni Enrico Bucher is released January 16.

Diana Ross The Supremes perform their farewell live concert together at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. Ross's replacement, Jean Terrell, is introduced onstage at the end of the last show.

The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.

The Reserve Bank and Commonwealth Bank are created in Australia.

Jagadguru Kripalu Maharaj was named fifth Jagadguru (world teacher) after giving seven days of speeches before 500 Hindu scholars.

Marilyn Monroe marries baseball player Joe DiMaggio.

"Today" premieres on NBC, eventually becoming one of the longest-running television series in America.

WWII: Soviet troops start the offensive at Leningrad and Novgorod.

WWII: The 27th Polish Home Army Infantry Division is re-created, marking the start of Operation Tempest by the Polish Home Army.

An earthquake hits San Juan, Argentina, killing an estimated 10,000 people in the worst natural disaster in Argentina's history.

WWII: Commerce raiding "hilfskreuzer Pinguin" captures the Norwegian whaling fleet near Bouvet Island, effectively ending Southern Ocean whaling for the duration of the war.

WWII: Commerce raiding\\'\\'hilfskreuzer Pinguin\\'\\' captures the Norwegian whaling fleet near Bouvet Island, effectively ending Southern Oceanwhaling for the duration of the war.

March ndash The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt results in possibly as many as 11,000 deaths.

An earthquake, in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.

Emile Zola publishes "J'Accuse" a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully placing Alfred Dreyfus in jail.

Emile Zola publishes "J'Accuse" a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully placing Alfred Dreyfus in jail.

Alfonso (Queen Isabel IIof Spain's son) arrives in Spain and becomes Alfonso XII(Third Carlist War).

Felice Orsini and his accomplices fail to assassinate Napoleon III in Paris but their bombs kill 8 and wound 142 people. Because of the involvement of French émigrés living in Britain, there is a brief anti-British feeling in France, but the emperor refuses to support it. Orsini is executed by guillotine on March 13 of the same year.

President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic.

Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in exchange for west Pomerania, as part of the Treaty of Kiel.

The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming the first state university in the United States.

The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain to end the American Revolutionary War, with the signature of President of CongressThomas Mifflin.

Christian VII becomes King of Denmark.

Third Battle of Panipat: The Marathas are defeated by the Afghans.

King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne.

An earthquake hits Norcia, Italy.

The clarinet is said to have been invented in Nuremberg, Germany.There is no evidence for this.

Battle of Elvas: The Portuguese beat the Spanish.

English Civil War: Fairfax is appointed Commander-in-Chief.

Connecticut's first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders," is adopted.

After 90 years of Ottoman occupation, the Safavid empire recaptures Baghdad.

The Hton Court conference is held between James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of the Puritans.

Treaty of Madrid: Peace is declared between Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Francis agrees to cede Burgundy to Charles, and abandons all claims to Flanders, Artois, Naples, and Milan.

Novgorod surrenders to Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow.

Andrew III of Hungary dies, ending the Árpád dynasty in Hungary.

Henry III of England marries Eleanor of Provence.