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President His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan receives greetings from children on the occasion of UAE National Day in Abu Dhabi. - Gulf News Archives

Zayed praises Rulers for federation’s march

1992 - President His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan praised the Rulers of the emirates for their remarkable role in making a steady progress of the federal state possible. Shaikh Zayed said it was his pleasure to hail the Rulers and the people of the UAE for their consolidation and solidarity that brought stability, prosperity and welfare for the country and its people. “Your sincere flocking around your federation as one nation and your efforts to enhance its progress has helped the leadership to proceed ahead to achieve the ambitious goals of the state,” Shaikh Zayed said. “I seize this opportunity to congratulate and thank the Supreme Council Members for their contributions to the welfare of our nation,” he added.

December 2

1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor of France in Paris.

1815 - Britain signs peace treaty with Nepal.

1816 - The first savings bank in the US, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, opens for business.

1848 - Austria’s Emperor Ferdinand I abdicate in favour of Franz Joseph I.

1942 - The first man-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction IS achieved at the University of Chicago, US.

1950 - United Nations agrees to hand over Eritrea to Ethiopia.

1961 - Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares himself a Marxist-Leninist who will lead Cuba to Communism.

1969 - The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its debut as 191 people fly from Seattle to New York City.

1971 - Britain terminates all treaties with Trucial States in the Gulf, leading to the UAE’s formation.

1976 - Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba.

1986 - Riots in New Delhi in protest against terrorist killings in the state of Punjab.

1989 - Viswanath Pratap Singh is sworn in as Indian Prime Minister.

1990 - Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins a landslide victory in the first pan-German elections since 1932.

1994 - Ferry carrying more than 600 people sinks in Manila Bay, Philippines.

2001 - Enron, the largest United States energy-trading company, files for bankruptcy protection.

2004 - Gunfire crackles across Haiti’s capital, killing a dozen people.

2007 - A record breaking UAE flag, measuring 50,000 square feet, is displayed in Abu Dhabi.

2008 - Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat’s party is found guilty of electoral fraud and dissolved.

2009 - Iran frees five British sailors, detained when their racing yacht drifted accidentally into Iranian waters.

2010 - Qatar wins bid to host Fifa World Cup 2022.

2012 - The seventh highest flagpole is inaugurated in Sharjah, opposite Al Jazeera Park.

2015 - Pakistan origin couple opens fire in San Bernardino at a Christmas party, killing 14 people.

2016 - At least 40 people are dead in rave party fire at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California.