The Long March 3 (Chinese: 长征三号火箭), also known as the Chang Zheng 3, CZ-3 and LM-3, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It was launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. It was a 3-stage rocket, and was mostly used to place DFH-2-class communications satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits. It first flew on 29 January 1984. It was replaced by the more powerful Long March 3A, which has an improved third stage.

The Long March 3 suffered third stage reliability issues. The upper stage failed to ignite on two launches, and cut off early on a third.

On 15 February, 1996, the Long March 3B rocket carrying Intelsat 708 failed at launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The rocket veered off course immediately after launch, crashing in the nearby village only 22 seconds later and destroying 80 houses. According to official Chinese reports 6 deaths and 57 injuries resulted from the incident; third-party accounts estimated 100 fatalities.

The Long March (simplified Chinese: 长征; traditional Chinese: 長征; pinyin: Chángzhēng) was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party) army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south escaped to the north and west. The most well known is the march from Jiangxi province which began in October 1934. The First Front Army of the Chinese Soviet Republic, led by an inexperienced military commission, was on the brink of annihilation by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's troops in their stronghold in Jiangxi province. The Communists, under the eventual command of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, escaped in a circling retreat to the west and north, which reportedly traversed some 12,500 kilometers (8,000 miles) over 370 days. The route passed through some of the most difficult terrain of western China by traveling west, then north, to Shaanxi.

Nawaz Sharif (Punjabi, Urdu: نواز شریف; born December 5, 1949) is a Pakistani steel magnate and national conservative, serving as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 until October 12, 1999. He is the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, the Centre-right-conservative political force in Pakistan.

Before becoming the Prime minister, Sharif served as the ninth Chief Minister of Punjab Province from 1985 to 1990 and embarked his political career under the military regime of President General Zia-ul-Haq. An advocate and businessman, he owns Ittefaq Group, a private steel mill enterprise and one of the largest producer of iron materials, noted as being as Pakistan's one of the wealthiest investor in the steel mill business. His political philosophy emphasized and reflected conservatism advocating for the free-market economy, capitalism as its economic base. His first term survived a serious constitutional crisis when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan attempted to dismissed Sharif by citing "corruption and nepotism", which Sharif strongly denied and turned to Supreme Court. The apex Supreme Court of Pakistan favored the Prime minister citing that Presidential ordnance as "unconstitutional and irrelevant", therefore the government was reconstituted. His first term was finally dismissed after the Pakistan Armed Forces persuaded him to resign to end the political standoff with President Ishaq Khan, which he too was forced to resigned.

Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli.

Already established as a nightclub singer and musical theatre actress, she first attracted critical acclaim for her dramatic performances in the movies The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970); Minnelli then rose to international stardom for her appearance as Sally Bowles in the 1972 film version of the Broadway musical Cabaret, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She later made a great star turn in Arthur (1981), co-starring with Dudley Moore (in the title role) and Sir John Gielgud, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Arthur's snobbish but loveable butler.

While film projects such as Lucky Lady, A Matter of Time and New York, New York were less favorably received than her stage roles, Minnelli became one of the most versatile, highly regarded and best-selling entertainers in television, beginning with Liza with a Z in 1972, and on stage in the Broadway productions of Flora the Red Menace, The Act and The Rink. Minnelli also toured internationally and did shows such as Liza Minnelli: At Carnegie Hall, Frank, Liza & Sammy: The Ultimate Event, and Liza Live from Radio City Music Hall.