On this day in ...... 1933 (75 years ago today), at 11:50 p.m. Eastern time, "after sixteen years and nine days of the Soviet Government's existence," the United States gave its recognition to and established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. The next day Franklin D. Roosevelt, who'd been sworn in as President 9 months earlier (right), gave a public reading at the White House of the U.S.-Soviet treaty, which included promises of freedom of worship and access to counsel of choice.
... 2003 (5 years ago today), a Global Ceasefire Agreement between the Transitional Government of Burundi and the National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy, was signed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Representatives of the United Nations and of many African countries signed as witnesses. The agreement has proved a key step on a path to peace in Burundi, depicted on the map in red. 
