Historical timeline for March 11

The Burmese military kills at least 30 villagers, including 3 Buddhist monks, during the Pinlaung massacre in Shan State, Myanmar.

US President Joe Biden signs the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic.

A Bombardier Challenger 604 crashes into the Zagros Mountains near the Iranian city of Shar-e-kord, killing all 11 people on board.

A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.

An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile. Aftershocks of the 2010 Pichilemu earthquakes hit central Chile during the ceremony.

Winnenden school shooting: Fifteen are killed and nine are injured before recent graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.

Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-123, carrying the first component of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.

Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as the first female president of Chile.

Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid, Spain kill 191 people.

The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.

Lithuania declares independence from the Soviet Union.

Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.

Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, making Gorbachev the USSR's de facto, and last, head of state.

Bob Hawke is appointed Prime Minister of Australia.

Fifteen people are killed when Widerøe Flight 933 crashes into the Barents Sea near Gamvik, Norway.

Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.

Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel's Operation Litani.

The 1977 Hanafi Siege: Around 150 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.