US and China sign a nuclear pact
1985 - European nuclear energy firms vying for Chinese contracts worth millions of dollars were preparing for a tough challenge from US and Japanese rivals after Peking and Washington clinched a nuclear pact. The long delay in signing the US-China nuclear cooperation accord had prevented American firms from bidding for contracts in China’s ambitious civil nuclear energy programme and hindered Japanese licencees of US equipment. China announced plans to build about 10 nuclear plants worth up to $20 billion (Dh73.56 billion) by the end of the century to meet a chronic energy shortage. The agreement was initialled during President Ronald Reagan’s visit to China last year, but signing was delayed because US legislators were concerned about adverse intelligence reports.
July 23
1798 - Napoleon captures Alexandria, Egypt.
1829 - The first typewriter is patented by William Burt of Mount Vernon, Michigan.
1881 - Boundary treaty between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
1913 - Second Revolution breaks out in south China to force out military commander Yuan Shih-kai.
1914 - Austria and Hungary issue ultimatum to Serbia after assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
1920 - King Faisal’s Arab army is defeated at Maysaloun, and Syria falls to the French.
1920 - British East Africa is renamed Kenya and becomes a British colony.
1921 - The first meeting of the Chinese Communist Party is held.
1952 - Egyptian military officers, led by Jamal Abdul Nasser, overthrow King Farouq I.
1970 - Qaboos Bin Saeed becomes Sultan of Oman.
1999 - King Hassan II of Morocco dies.
2000 - Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to complete a career Grand Slam.
2005 - Multiple pre-dawn bombings targeting several hotels kill at least 88 in the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm Al Shaikh.
2006 - Investment in the UAE’s industrial sector jumps 140 per cent in five years.
2007 - Afghanistan’s last king Mohammad Zahir Shah dies.
2009 - German carmaker Volkswagen takes over Porsche to create a new car giant.
2011 - British soul singer Amy Winehouse is found dead in her home in London. She was 27.
2014 - Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways crashes while landing outside an airport, killing 47 people on board.
