1960: Year of Africa. Independence of Somalia, Togo and the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Congo Crisis. Mau Mau Uprising ends; first (and to date only) manned descent to the deepest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench; construction of the first laser; world population reaches 3 billion. FLQ seizes hostages, causing Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau of Canada to issue the War Measures Act 1961: Great Leap Forward ends in China after the deaths of roughly 20 million people. Building of the Berlin Wall; first human spaceflight