Milestones
Ten years ago: The International Committee of the Red Cross suspended its operations in Lebanon after receiving death threats.
Five years ago: Real estate developer Donald Trump married Marla Maples in a brief ceremony in the grand ballroom of Trump’s Plaza Hotel in New York. (The couple separated in 1997.) Alina Fernandez Revuelta, a daughter of Cuban President Fidel Castro, flew to Spain, where she was granted political asylum by the U.S. Embassy.
One year ago: President Nelson Mandela stepped down as leader of South Africa’s governing African National Congress. Pope John Paul II sent Christmas greetings to the Cuban people in advance of his visit to the island.