Iranian raids set two ships ablaze
1987 - An Iranian warship bombarded two ships with rocket-propelled grenades just a few minutes apart in the vulnerable Strait of Hormuz. The vessels were questioned about their identity, cargo and destination before being blitzed in a sudden and unexpected assault. The Romanian freighter Fundulea was ravaged by the missiles. Its captain was in critical condition in Ras Al Khaimah’s Al Saqr Hospital to where he was air-lifted. The other vessel, the Panamanian registered Uni-Master, suffered less serious damage after being set ablaze. The ship later sailed to Dubai for repairs. Three crew members of the Fundulea were rushed to Ras Al Khaimah hospital by the Omani military forces that assisted the victims of the surprise attacks.
November 23
1863 - The Battle of Chattanooga, one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil War, begins.
1891 - Deodoroda Fonseca, first President of Brazil, is ousted by a navy revolt.
1921 - US bans the doctors prescribing beer or liquor for medical purposes.
1932 - The kingdoms of Nejd and Hejaz merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1943 - US forces defeat the Japanese in Pacific battle of Tarawa in the Second World War.
1963 - Sixty-three elderly people are killed in a fire that destroys the Golden Age Nursing Home in Ohio.
1971 - China takes its seat as a permanent member of UN Security Council.
1980 - An earthquake in the Naples area of Italy kills 2,570 people.
1986 - Philippines President Corazon Aquino dismisses defence chief Juan Ponce Enrile after a reported coup attempt.
1990 - Iraq ends curfew in occupied Kuwait, but begins calling up army reservists in their thirties.
1996 - A hijacked Ethiopian airliner carrying 175 passengers runs out of fuel and crashes on the Comoros Islands, killing 125 people.
2000 - UAE donates $150 million to the Intifada and Al Quds funds.
2001 - A huge landslide buries gold miners illegally digging into the side of a mountain in western Colombia, killing at least 28 people.
2003 - Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze announces his resignation.
2004 - Ukraine crisis spins out of control.
2005 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is confirmed as the winner in Liberia’s first post-war elections.
2008 - President Hugo Chavez’s allies win a majority in Venezuela’s state and municipal elections.
2010 - North Korea bombards a South Korean Island, causing terror, destruction and deaths of two South Korean soldiers.
2011 - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signs a power-transfer agreement to end his 33-year rule.
2014 - Manny Pacquiao retains his World Boxing Organisation welterweight title after beating American Chris Algieri at Cotai Arena in Macau.
2015 - Pfizer buys Allergan in $160 billion (Dh588.48 billion) deal.
