Today in History
June 12
1691 Ahmad II succeeds Sulaiman III as sultan of Turkey.
1898 Philippine nationalists declare independence from Spain.
1909 The Queensboro Bridge, linking the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens in New York City, opens.
1917 King Constantine of Greece abdicates, making way for son Alexander.
1935 Paraguay and Bolivia sign a truce ending bloody three-year Chaco War.
1938 Dikes on the Yellow River burst, killing 150,000 Chinese in the ensuing floods.
1964 Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.
1975 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is found guilty of electoral corruption.
1976 A military coup in Uruguay overthrows civilian president Juan Bordaberry, beginning a nine-year dictatorship.
1979 American Bryan Allen becomes the first man ever to fly across the English Channel by human power alone.
1982 Palestine Liberation Organisation accepts ceasefire in Lebanon proposed by Israel.
1985 Shiite militants free more than 60 hostages unharmed and blew up a hijacked Royal Jordanian jetliner at Beirut airport.
1990 The Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
1994 The Boeing 777, the world’s largest twinjet, makes its first flight.
1997 The Dreamland Aqua Park is opened in Umm Al Quwain.
1998 Pakistan signs an open-skies agreement with Dubai.
2000 Saudi Arabia and Yemen sign an agreement ending decades of bitterness over their borders.
2002 Fidel Castro leads hundreds of thousands of people in a march in support of a constitutional amendment declaring Cuba’s socialist state “untouchable”.
2005 Maasouma Al Mubarak is appointed as first woman member of Kuwait cabinet.
2006 Abu Dhabi Investment Council is set up replacing Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
2007 Emirates Wildlife Society declares Wadi Wurayah in Fujairah a protected zone.
2008 Nepalese officials take control of the main royal palace in Katmandu, a day after deposed King Gyanendra left to begin life as a civilian.
2009 Harith Al Obaidi, the head of the Iraqi parliament’s biggest Sunni bloc is killed in Baghdad.
2013 UAE present bid to host Expo 2020 in Paris.
2014 Fifa World Cup football opens in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2015 Swedish Prince Carl Philip marries Sofia Hellqvist in Stockholm.
2016 At least 20 people are killed in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando shooting.
HIGHLIGHT
2002
Shaikh Mohammad launches scheme for youth
To encourage and finance businesses by Emirati youth, the Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders and a Dh700 million Islamic fund, in collaboration with Dubai Islamic Bank, were launched by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister. This is the first scheme from the newly-established Dubai Development and Investment Authority, chaired by Shaikh Mohammad. All government and semi-government departments were ordered by Shaikh Mohammad to allocate a minimum of 5 per cent of their purchases to the businesses registered under the establishment, guaranteeing marketing channels for their products.
