... 1974, negotiators from Greece, Turkey, and Britain announced that they had reached an agreement ending weeks of fighting in Cyprus. Further talks would fail, however, and by August Turkish troops would seize 40% of the island. The Republic of Cyprus (flag at right) became a member state of the European Union in 2004 notwithstanding continued disputes over that part of the island..
.. 1980, Vanuatu (flag below), a South Pacific island state about the size of Connecticut, became an independent of the British-French New Hebrides "condominium" that had ruled it since 1906. It became a member state of the United Nations a year later.
