1954 in the Vietnam War establishment of a demilitarized zone 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide separating the two provisional states. Viet Minh soldiers were to withdraw to the north and military forces allied to France to the south. Free movement between north and south was granted for 300 days. The Final Declaration stated that the demarcation line at the 17th parallel between North and South Vietnam was only "provisional and should not in any way be interpreted as constituting a political or territorial boundary." Elections by secret ballot were to be held in July 1956 to unite the north and the south into a single
Australian cricket team in Australia in 1954–55 a state captain. In 1954-55 Australia had not played a Test series since and the selectors were divided as to who should be captain. As with everything else down under cricket was divided between the power centres of Sydney, New South Wales and Melbourne, Victoria. The fast bowling all-rounder Keith Miller was captain of New South Wales and the winner of the 1954-55 Sheffield Shield. He had the obvious advantage of being an automatic selection for the Australian team, and was a charismatic and inspirational leader on the field. Against him was his cavalier approach to the game and that