3114 B.C. - 3114-08-11 B.C.E is traditionally considered the start date of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya 1945-Allies refuse Japan's offer to surrender on the condition that Emperor Hirohito retains his status 1954-Formal peace treaty ends over seven years of fighting in Indochina between the French and the Communist Viet Minh 1963-Four ANC political detainees escape from Pretoria Central Prison in South Africa 1988-Al-Qaeda is formed at a meeting between Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Dr. Fadl in Peshawar, Pakistan 1998-Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian National Authority president, Yasser Arafat, arrives in Cape Town on his first state visit to South Africa at the invitation of President Nelson Mandela 2003-NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan in its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year history