Court acquits Imelda
1990 - Former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos was acquitted of racketeering and fraud charges for allegedly helping her late husband loot the country’s treasury to buy New York real estate, jewels and art. The verdict comes about midway through the fifth day of deliberations. It also was Imelda’s 61st birthday and the present she has been praying for since the jury went out. Imelda had been charged with a total of four counts of racketeering and fraud carrying a maximum prison term of 50 years and $1 million (Dh3.67 million) in fines. The verdict also is a major blow to the US government which had spent millions of dollars in its effort to prosecute the wife of a former foreign head of state. “I thank the almighty God for the vindication ...,” Imelda said.
July 2
1657 - Denmark attacks Sweden, but suffers a humiliating defeat the same winter.
1850 - American inventor B.J. Lane patents the gas mask.
1900 - Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin flies his first airship in Germany.
1964 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act against racial discrimination.
1966 - France explodes an atomic bomb at a Pacific atoll in first of series of six tests.
1976 - North and South Vietnam are reunited officially after more than 20 years of war.
1990 - A stampede in a pedestrian tunnel linking Makkah and Mina leaves 1,400 pilgrims dead.
1992 - US completes a worldwide withdrawal of its tactical nuclear weapons, marking the end of an era.
1994 - Colombian footballer Andres Escobar is slain in Medellin for accidentally scoring an own goal in a World Cup match against the US.
2000 - Kuwait and Saudi Arabia reach an agreement in delineating their maritime border.
2002 - US millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett becomes the first person to circumnavigate the world solo in a balloon.
2005 - Worldwide Live8 concerts held in support of tackling poverty in Africa.
2006 - World Health Organisation chooses UAE as regional centre for blood transfusion services in the Middle East.
2007 - Brahim Deby, the son of Chad’s president, is found dead of asphyxiation in the basement of his apartment building in a Paris suburb.
2009 - King Abdullah II of Jordan appoints his eldest son, Hussain, 15, as Crown Prince.
2012 - Marcus Agius, Barclays chairman, quits over the interest-rate rigging scandal.
