2015 Event UNESCO has added new sites to its World Heritage list, including the regions of Champagne and Burgundy in France, both Susa and the cultural setting of Maymand in Iran, and the Singapore Botanical Gardens, among others 2015 Event The U.S. state of Hawaii raises the legal smoking age from 18 to 21, the highest smoking age among all the states 2015 Event Nigerian troops rescue 93 women and 200 girls from Boko Haram encampments in the Sambisa Forest; the 'Chibok girls', kidnapped by the militants last year and taken into the forest, were not among those rescued 2015 Event France has outlawed the hiring of models who do not meet new Body Mass Index (BMI) minimums for a certain period of time before and during a modeling job; the law aims to prevent promotion of anorexia among models and people who emulate them 2015 Event California officials believe that an outbreak of measles among Disneyland visitors was caused by someone with overseas exposure; Disneyland visitors account for 67 cases, with 94 total infections across the U.S. to date 2014 Event South Korea bans poultry from the U.S. due to potential bird flu concerns; South Korea is working to contain the spread of the virus among its own avian population 2014 Event Residents of the West Point shantytown in Monrovia, Nigeria loot an Ebola quarantine center, stealing items that include contaminated bedsheets; patients flee during the raid, raising the risk of spreading the virus among the 50,000 slum inhabitants 2014 Event Exxon Mobil takes the initiative among energy companies to disclose its plans for dealing with climate change in response to a 2013 shareholder resolution; the company's move may set a standard for other energy companies to follow 2014 Event Andrus Ansip resigns as Prime Minister of Estonia; Ansip presided over the entry of Estonia into the eurozone and has served the longest to date among the prime ministers of the European Union 2013 Event Breaking with long-standing tradition among Russian heads of state, President Vladimir Putin delivered two New Year's speeches rather than one; he made his second stres from Khaborovsk, a city that experienced devastating floods this summer 2013 Event A meeting between Pope Francis and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, is held at the Vatican; discussions include Iran's nuclear program among other global affairs 2013 Event Credit card information, among other data of 2.9 million Adobe consumers was stolen during a cyber attack on the company's website 2013 Event A Pontifical Commission is established by Pope Francise to investigate current accounting practices and implement new strategies for greater fiscal transparency and fiscal responsibility among all Vatican offices 2013 Event In southwest China, environmental and health concerns among residents are raised when 1,000 dead ducks pulled from the Sichuan River 2012 Event A debate among EU commissioners on a proposal to accept a 40 percent quota for women on corporate boards is delayed until November 2012 2012 Event A pop concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee takes place at Buckingham Palace, featuring artists Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, among others 2012 Event An internal investigation is launched by Pope Benedict XVI involving leaks of confidential documents that allege corruption, financial mismanagement and power struggles among senior church officials 2012 Event Adele, One Direction, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran are among the winners at the 2012 BRIT Awards for British popular music 2009 Event The 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index reports declares Somalia the most corrupt, New Zealand is least corrupt, among 180 countries 2009 Event Margarito Montes, a prominent union leader, is found among fifteen people killed on a ranch in northern Mexico 1999 Death Payne Stewart, professional golfer, won the U.S. Open, 1991 and 1999, won PGA Championship in 1989, among others, dies in Mina, South Dakota, at age 42, due to hypoxia from depressurization of a Learjet 1997 Death Carole Carr, singer and actress, Down Among the Z Men, dies at 68 1992 Death Avonne Taylor, actress (My Best Girl, Honor Among Lovers), dies at 93 1989 Event Danish parliament allows legal marriage among homosexuals 1986 Event Pat Davis, ranked 412th among world tennis competitors wins Davis Cup 1986 Event RUN DMC calls for a day of peace among LA street gangs 1983 Event Chicago Absp Joseph L. Bernardin is among 18 new cardinals invested 1966 Birthday Samuel West, born in England, actor, theater director, appeared in 'Howards End', 'Jane Eyre', Van Helsing', 'Notting Hill' , 'Complicity' films, among others 1963 Birthday Jet Li, born in Beijing, China, Li Lianjie, Chinese martial artist, actor, international film star, appeared in Lethal Weapon 4, with Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom, Wushu champion, studied Changquan, among other arts 1958 Death Douglas Mawson, Antarctic explorer, geologist, member, Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod expedition, among first to reach South Magnetic Pole, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage, in Brighton, South Australia, at age 76 1957 Event Mao's speech "On Correct Handling of Contradictions Among People" 1957 Birthday Payne Stewart, professional golfer, won the U.S. Open, 1991 and 1999, won PGA Championship in 1989, among others 1955 Birthday Mary Landrieu, born in Arlington, Virginia, politician, Democrat, U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana, considered among most conservative Democrats in the Senate 1955 Birthday John Gilmore, born in America, fifth employee of Sun Microsystems, among founders of Cygnus Solutions, Cypherpunks mailing list, Electronic Frontier Foundation 1955 Birthday John Nunn, born in London, England, champion chess player, chess writer, publisher, mathematician, once ranked among the world's top ten, two-time champion in chess problem solving 1954 Birthday John Kimmel, born in East Orange, New Jersey, John C. Kimmel, horse trainer, trained at University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School, trained famous horses, Better Than Honour, Premium Tap, wins include Florida Derby, 2004, Pennsylvania Derby, 2007, among others 1947 Event A movement among Card players to protest its 1st meeting with Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers is aborted by a talk from owner Sam Breadon 1946 Birthday David Liebman, born in Brooklyn, New York, musician, rocker, saxaphonist, flautist, worked with Steve Swallow, Pete La Roca, played with Elvin Jones, Miles Davis's group, appeared on 'Big Fun' album, among others 1937 Birthday Victoria Glendinning, author, Edith Sitwell A Unicorn Among Lions 1935 Birthday Alain Delon, France, actor, Honor Among Thieves, Return of Zorro 1933 Birthday Arif Melikov, born in Baku, Azerbaijan, name also Arif Malikov, Soviet composer, nationally acclaimed for composition Legend of Love whose ballet is among the finest works to emerge from the Soviet Union 1931 Event Round-robin playoff among New York City's 3 major league teams, to raise money for unemployed, concludes with Brooklyn losing to both Giants and Yankees 1928 Birthday Carole Carr, singer and actress, Down Among the Z Men 1927 Birthday Oskar Pastior, born in Sibiu, Romania, poet, writer, translator, studied German at University of Bucharest, translated Romanian literature into German, among other works by Tudor Arghezi, Tristan Tzara, Gellu Naum, Urmuz 1926 Birthday Jan Morris, travel writer, Among the Cities, Hong Kong, Journeys 1921 Birthday Harry Secombe, Swansea, Wales, actor, Down Among the "Z" Men 1914 Birthday Frances Farmer, born in Seattle, Washington, actress, Son of Fury, Among the Living 1913 Event Billboard publishes earliest known "Last Week's 10 Best Sellers among Popular Songs" Malinda's Wedding Day is #1 1909 Birthday Jean Berger, born in Hamm, Germany, composer, pianist, professor, studied at Heidelberg, Vienna universities, studied with Paris' Louis Aubert, taught at Middlebury College, University of Colorado at Boulder, among others 1909 Birthday Robin Orr, born in Brechin, Scotland, musician, composer, professor of music, composed three operas, Full Circle, Hermiston, On the Razzle, among other symphonies, church music, chamber works 1900 Birthday Bruno Apitz, born in Leipzip, Germany, writer, published poems in Communist newspapers, novel 'Nackt unter Wolfen', Naked Among the Wolves, translated into more than thirty languages 1887 Birthday Marcus Garvey, began back-to-Africa movement among U.S. blacks 1882 Birthday Douglas Mawson, born in Yorkshire, England, Antarctic explorer, geologist, member, Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod expedition, among first to reach South Magnetic Pole
