ON THIS DAY- On this day in 1985, the hijacking of Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro ended after US Navy F-14 fighters intercepted an airliner attempting to fly the Palestinian hijackers to freedom and force the jet to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily. The incident started on 7 October when the ship “docked at Alexandria, Egypt, and 651 passengers disembarked to tour the pyramids, intending to rendezvous with the ship at Port Said that night… four men brandishing AK-47 machine guns corralled the crew and the remaining 97 passengers and forced the captain to leave port.” After being denied port in Syria and Cyprus, the ship went back to Port Said. “In exchange for releasing the hostages, the hijackers demanded safe passage through Egypt and immunity from prosecution. Egypt acceded … The plane on which they had planned to escape … was located … U.S. fighter jets blockaded the larger passenger craft and forced it to land at a NATO air base … Eventually Italy arrested the hijackers.” In 1980, two big earthquakes struck the northern Algerian town of El Asnam leaving thousands feared dead. In Enterprise, readers were waking up to the prospect of subsidy cuts in 2015 following statements by the IMF’s chief Christine Lagarde, who required reforms before disbursing any funds. Also, the EGP was at “an all-time low” on the parallel market, trading at EGP 14-14.25 per USD 1.