December 5
Dec 5
2013 Sana'a attack
On December 5, 2013, coordinated explosions and an armed assault struck the Yemeni Ministry of Defense compound in Sana'a. The attack — claimed by Ansar al‑Sharia, linked to Al‑Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — killed roughly 50–60 people and wounded more than 150. It exposed glaring security gaps in the capital and deepened anxieties about the state's ability to protect its institutions during a fragile political transition.
Dec 5
2006 Fijian coup d'état
On 5 December 2006, Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama and the Republic of Fiji Military Forces seized key government buildings, state media and communications in Suva, removing Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s administration. The takeover, justified by the military as necessary to stop corruption and block an amnesty bill, set Fiji on a decade-long path of military-backed rule, legal upheaval and international isolation before a new constitution and elections later normalized civilian government under new legal arrangements.
Dec 5
The Great Smog of London (1952)
In early December 1952 a stagnant weather pattern trapped thick coal smoke, soot and sulfurous gases over London, producing a yellow‑brown smog that darkened streets, choked public services and precipitated a sharp spike in illness and death. The episode — most intense between 5 and 9 December 1952 — galvanized public outrage and led to Britain’s first major air‑quality legislation, the Clean Air Act 1956.
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Dec 5
Disappearance of Flight 19
On 5 December 1942 five U.S. Navy TBM/TBF Avenger torpedo bombers vanished during a routine over‑water navigation exercise after departing NAS Fort Lauderdale. Radio transmissions from the flight reported compass problems and growing confusion about position. A Martin PBM Mariner sent to search for them exploded and sank, and no confirmed wreckage from either the training flight or the search aircraft was ever recovered. The Navy’s inquiry could not produce a definitive cause; the most widely accepted explanation is navigational error and fuel exhaustion.
Dec 5
Moscow Strategic Offensive (Soviet Winter Counteroffensive, 1941–1942)
In the depths of a Russian winter, Soviet forces launched a broad, Stavka‑ordered counteroffensive on 5 December 1941 that pushed the Wehrmacht away from Moscow’s approaches, ended the immediate German bid to seize the Soviet capital, and transformed the character of the Eastern Front from a lightning campaign into a long war of attrition.