2002 - General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence, opened the Mercato Shopping Mall in Dubai. The Dh400 million mall has a leasable area of 400,000 square feet, for the middle and upper brand names. Mercato, the Italian word for ‘market’, which is owned by the Al Zarooni Group, also features seven cinemas. The mall has 700 underground parking spaces, plus another 300 overground. Shaikh Mohammad and his entourage watched an acrobatic show by an Italian troupe. The mall has been themed as an Italian market place with colourful exterior. It is located on Jumeirah Beach Road. The centre has been leased to a broad range of national and international retail fascias.
Other important events
1807 - Spain and France agree to conquer Portugal.
1810 - US annexes western Florida from Spain.
1871 - Britain annexes the diamond fields of Kimberly, South Africa.
1904 - First rapid transit subway opens in New York City.
1922 - Southern Rhodesia referendum rejects joining Union of South Africa.
1938 - DuPont announces the invention of nylon, a synthetic yarn.
1955 - Egypt and Saudi Arabia sign a joint defence agreement in Cairo.
1966 - The UN General Assembly proclaims termination of South Africa’s mandate over Southwest Africa.
1971 - Republic of Congo-Kinshasa becomes Republic of Zaire.
1973 - UN peacekeeping forces arrive in Cairo to set up a ceasefire between Israeli and Arab forces.
1978 - Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin are awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1982 - Oman and South Yemen agree to establish diplomatic ties.
1987 - South Korean voters approve a new constitution designed to bring full democracy.
1997 - The Dow Jones industrial average tumbles 554.26 points, forcing the stock market to shut down for the first time since 1981.
1998 - Hurricane Mitch kills more than 7,000 people in Honduras, Nicaragua and other Central American countries.
1999 - Armenian Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian is assassinated
2002 - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva becomes Brazil’s first leftist President.
2003 - Five coordinated suicide bombing attacks kill at least 35 people in Baghdad.
2006 - Pakistan’s former president Gulam Ishaq Khan dies after a prolonged illness, at the age of 91.
2007 - Bowler Naif Ogab wins the UAE’s first gold medal at the Asian Indoor Games in Macau.
2010 - Ras Al Khaimah Ruler Shaikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi dies after ruling the emirate for more than 60 years.
2013 - Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central is officially inaugurated.
2014 - Toronto elects John Tory as new mayor.
