Milestones

Ten years ago: Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze wrapped up four days of high-level talks in China, the first visit by a Soviet foreign minister in three decades.

Five years ago: The Federal Reserve increased interest rates for the first time in five years in a surprise announcement that triggered a huge sell-off on Wall Street; the Fed said the move was designed to head off any recurrence of high inflation.

One year ago: An estimated 5,000 people were killed when an earthquake hit northeast Afghanistan with a magnitude of 6.1.