Historical timeline for December 27

An estimated €30 million were stolen from a Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Bek Air Flight 2100 crashes during takeoff from Almaty International Airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan, killing 13.

Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in Tehran, Iran, government security forces fire upon demonstrators.

Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches three-week operation on Gaza.

Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a shooting incident.

Riots erupt in Mombasa, Kenya, after Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of the presidential election, triggering a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis.

Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.

Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia.

Burger King and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission order a recall of plastic Poké Ball containers after they are determined to be a choking hazard.

Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan.

Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 crashes in Gottröra in the Norrtälje Municipality in Sweden, injuring 92.

The Romanian Revolution concludes, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly end in the country's capital, Bucharest.

Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside the airports of Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria.

Pope John Paul II visits Mehmet Ali Ağca in Rebibbia's prison and personally forgives him for the 1981 attack on him in St. Peter's Square.

Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of fascist dictatorship.

Apollo program: Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital crewed mission to the Moon.

North Central Airlines Flight 458 crashes at O'Hare International Airport, killing 28.

The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, is discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Indonesian National Revolution: The Netherlands officially recognizes Indonesian independence. End of the Dutch East Indies.