Party won most seats but not an overall majority. Gaston Eyskens of the Christian Social Party remained Prime Minister. Rhodesia's special forces unit carried out Operation Panga with 10 commandos who invaded neighboring Zambia to raid a base of the rebel Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZiRPA). Died: John Francis Gillespie, 24, Australian serviceman, killed in South Vietnam's Phuoc Tuy province during an attempted rescue. His remains would be located almost 33 years later and, after identification in 2007, returned to Australia. April 18, 1971 (Sunday) An agreement to create the Federation of Arab Republics was signed in Tripoli by Presidents Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Hafez al-Assad of Syria. All three nations would ratify the agreement in referendums conducted on September 1, but the parties were never able to agree on terms of a merger. The German film distributor Filmverlag der Autoren was formed by 13 independent filmmakers meeting in Munich, West Germany. The U.S. restaurant chain Burger King sold its first franchise in Australia, to entrepreneur Jack Cowin. In that the name "Burger King" was already trademarked to a set of food stores based in Adelaide, the BK chain's fast-food restaurants in Australia are branded Hungry Jack's. Cowin's Hungry Jack's restaurant opened on June 19 in Perth. The Point Danger Light, the first lighthouse to use a laser to power its illumination, went into operation. The experiment would be abandoned in 1975 and the laser replaced by a standard electric lamp. Born: David Tennant, Scottish television actor and the 10th person to play the title character in Doctor Who; as David John McDonald in Bathgate, West Lothian April 19, 1971 (Monday) The first space station in Earth's history, Salyut 1, was launched by the Soviet Union from Baikonur at 6:40 in the morning local time (0140 UTC). On June 7, the crew of the ill-fated Soyuz 11 mission would be the first humans to enter a space station, staying until their disastrous return on June 30. Salyut 1 would remain in orbit until October 11. Sierra Leone, governed for the first ten years of its existence by a Prime Minister and a Governor-General representing the Queen of the United Kingdom, became a republic governed by a president. Christopher Okoro Cole, the Governor-General since March 31, briefly continued as the Sierra Leonean head of state until Siaka Stevens took office two days later. Judge Charles H.