On This Day: September 9th

Six people are killed when Israel carries out an airstrike on Doha in a failed attempt to decapitate the Hamas leadership.

Several Russian drones incur on Polish airspace and are subsequently shot down, marking the first time a NATO member has engaged Russian military assets.

The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it "maniacal recklessness".

Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.

The album Songs of Innocence by U2 is digitally released at no charge to all customers of the iTunes Music Store, appearing automatically in the "purchased" section of over 500 million users worldwide.

The Indian space agency puts into orbit its heaviest foreign satellite yet, in a streak of 21 consecutive successful PSLV launches.

A wave of attacks kills more than 100 people and injure 350 others across Iraq.

The Dubai Metro, the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula, is ceremonially inaugurated.

Space Shuttle Program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-115 to resume assembling the International Space Station. It is the first ISS assembly mission after the Columbia disaster back in 2003.

Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance, is assassinated in Afghanistan by two al-Qaeda assassins who claimed to be Arab journalists wanting an interview.