Qatar and Bahrain look to boost ties
1997 - Qatar and Bahrain agreed to set aside their long-standing territorial dispute and establish diplomatic ties 26 years after the two countries gained independence. The decision was announced in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, after talks between Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammad Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa (above) and Qatari Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani. The two ministers agreed to establish embassies for each country, for the sake of continuing coordination and cooperation between them, and to guard their joint interests. Bahrain and Qatar, which both gained independence from Britain in 1971, have competing claims to the Hawar islands in the Gulf and the dispute is being heard by the International Court of Justice.
March 2
1836 - Texas declares independence from Mexico.
1877 - Republican Rutherford B. Hayes is declared winner of the 1876 US presidential election.
1917 - Puerto Ricans are granted US citizenship.
1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected president of North Vietnam.
1955 - Egypt and Syria sign defence accord.
1962 - Gen Ne Win overthrows premier U Nu in Myanmarese coup.
1972 - US spacecraft Pioneer 10 is launched on mission to explore environs of Jupiter.
1975 - Terrorist bombing of bus in Nairobi, Kenya, kills 27 people and injures about 100.
1984 - Lebanon and Syria agree to a Syrian guaranteed ceasefire in Lebanon’s civil war.
1987 - Apple releases the Macintosh II personal computer – the first Apple computer to feature colour graphics.
1991 - Sri Lankan Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeratne is killed in a car bomb blast in Colombo.
1992 - UN General Assembly welcomes nine new members.
1997 - Kuwaiti prince Shaikh Khalid Al Sabah is killed in Abu Dhabi Powerboat Championship.
2003 - Alinghi becomes the first European team to win the America’s Cup.
2006 - India and US sign a historic agreement on civilian nuclear power.
2008 - Dmitry Medvedev wins Russian presidential election.
2011 - Pakistani Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti is shot and killed in Islamabad.
2016 - Emirates airline becomes the world’s longest non-stop flight operator, following the launch of its direct services to Auckland, New Zealand.
