29 – An agreement is signed between Britain and France, to develop the Concorde supersonic airliner. November 30 – The United Nations General Assembly elects U Thant of Burma, as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations. December December 2 – Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to make a pessimistic public comment on the war's progress. December 7 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his formerly autocratic power to several advisory and legislative councils. December 8 The first period of the Second Vatican Council closes. The North Kalimantan National Army revolts in Brunei, in the first stirrings of the Indonesian Confrontation. The 1962–63 New York City newspaper strike begins, affecting all of the city's major newspapers; it will last for 114 days. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who died on November 28, is buried at the Nieuwe Kerk (Delft). The Wedding Day of Stuart and Gwen Flower in Hull December 9 – Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania) becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Julius Nyerere as president. December 10 – David Lean's epic film Lawrence of Arabia, featuring Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Quinn, premieres in London; 6 days later, it opens in the U.S. December 11 In West Germany, a coalition government of Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists and Free Democrats is formed. The last execution by hanging is carried out in Canada. December 14 U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 passes by Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to transmit data from another planet. Leonardo da Vinci's early 16th-century painting the Mona Lisa is assessed for insurance purposes at US$100 million before touring the United States for several months, the highest insurance value for a painting in history. However, the Louvre, its owner, chooses to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security instead. December 15 – Storm over the North Sea: Belgian pirate radio station Radio Uylenspiegel is knocked off the airwaves, never to operate again. December 19 – Britain acknowledges the right of Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi) to secede from the Central African Federation. December 24 – Cuba releases the last 1,113 participants in the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the U.S., in exchange for food worth $53 million. December