Following nationwide protests, Hailemariam Desalegn announced his resignation as prime minister of Ethiopia, remaining in post as a caretaker until he was succeeded by Abiy Ahmed.
In one of the largest anti-war rallies in history, millions around the world in approximately 800 cities took part in protests against the impending invasion of Iraq.
Abdullah Öcalan, one of the founding members of the militant organization the Kurdistan Workers' Party, was arrested by Turkish security forces in Nairobi, Kenya.
A Long March 3B rocket carrying the communications satellite Intelsat 708 crashed immediately after launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China, destroying a nearby town and killing an unknown number of inhabitants.
Murder of four anti-apartheid student activists by South African government forces, who decades later were the first to be indicted for the crime of apartheid.
The first constitution since the Cuban Revolution, providing for a system of government and law based on those of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, was adopted by a national referendum.