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TOP TEN LISTS

World's Most Dangerous Animals

Deadliest animals in the world ranked by estimated number of human fatalities per year

Best Selling Musicians

Top selling musicians of all time ranked by estimated number of albums sold

Best Selling Books of All-Time

Best selling novels worldwide ranked by estimated number of copies sold

Fastest Manned Aircraft in the World

Fastest manned aircraft (excluding spacecraft) ranked by top speed

World's Most Practiced Religions

Major religions of the world ranked by estimated number of followers

Worst Genocides of the Twentieth Century

The ten worst genocides of the 20th century listed by dictators responsible; ranked by number of deaths

World's Fastest Land Animals

The fastest land animals in the world ranked by maximum speed

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Today in History

Wednesday, 20 May 2026

2002

The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and 3 years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).

1996

Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in ''Romer v. Evans'' against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.

1990

The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.

1989

The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.

1985

Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.

1983

First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal ''Science'' by Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo individually.

1980

In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.

1969

The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.

1965

PIA Flight 705, a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 720 – 040 B, crashes while descending to land at Cairo International Airport, killing 119 of the 125 passengers and crew.

1956

In Operation Redwing (shot ''Cherokee''), the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean;

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