1790 – France is divided
into 83 département, which cuts
across the former provinces in
an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of
land by the nobility.
1930 – Floods ransack
Languedoc and the surrounding area in
south-west France, resulting
in twelve départements being submerged by water and causing the
death of over 700 people.
2005 – The car of
released Italian hostage Giuliana
Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers after it ran a
roadblock in Iraq, causing
the death of an Italian Secret Service Agent and injuring two
passengers.
2005 – The United Nations warns
that about 90 million Africans could be
infected by the HIV virus in the future
without further action against the spread of the disease.