Historical timeline for December 24

Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians.

A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor.

The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks against civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.

Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of belligerence against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.

The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station.

Indian Airlines Flight 814 is hijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal, and Delhi, India. The aircraft landed at Kandahar in Afghanistan. The incident ended on December 31 with the release of 190 survivors (one passenger is killed).

The Sid El-Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people.

A Learjet 35 crashes into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board.

Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria. Over the course of three days three passengers are killed, as are all four terrorists.

Aeroflot Flight 601 crashes during takeoff from Leshukonskoye Airport, Russia, killing 44 of the 49 people on board.

The first Ariane 1 rocket is launched from ELA-1 at the Guiana Space Centre.

Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.

District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.

LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91.

Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital.

Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 crashes on approach to Bradford Regional Airport, killing 20.

Apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits, took the Earthrise photograph, broadcast live TV pictures, and read the first ten verses of Genesis.

A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 111.

Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 crashes after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport, killing three.

Vietnam War: Viet Cong operatives bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, South Vietnam to demonstrate they can strike an American installation in the heavily guarded capital.