Historical timeline for August 18

One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after having once covered six square miles (15.5 km2).

The Turku terror attack occurs in Finland when a knifeman kills two and injures eight.

A terrorist attack on Israel's Highway 12 near the Egyptian border kills 16 and injures 40.

The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, resigns under threat of impeachment.

War of Afghanistan: The Uzbin Valley ambush occurs.

A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java; affecting almost 100 million people, it is one of the largest and most widespread power outages in history.

One-year-old Zachary Turner is murdered in Newfoundland by his mother, who was awarded custody despite facing trial for the murder of Zachary's father. The case was documented in the film Dear Zachary and led to reform of Canada's bail laws.

American International Airways Flight 808 crashes at Leeward Point Field at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, injuring the three crew members.

Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.

Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 21 people and causing over US$1 billion in damage (1983 dollars).

Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under Terrorism Act No. 83 of 1967 in King William's Town, South Africa. He later dies from injuries sustained during this arrest, bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.

The Korean axe murder incident in Panmunjom results in the deaths of two US Army officers.

The Soviet Union's robotic probe Luna 24 successfully lands on the Moon.

Aeroflot Flight A-13 crashes after takeoff from Baku-Bina International Airport in Azerbaijan, killing 56 people and injuring eight.

Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.

Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phước Tuy Province.

Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins: United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the first major American ground battle of the war.

Civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so, placing first among the 39 competitors.

Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.