December 27, 2005: Zabeel Park opens in Dubai

Zabeel Park opens in Dubai

2005 - Zabeel Park, a new oasis in the heart of Dubai on Shaikh Zayed Road, is officially opened. “We are very pleased to open the sixth public park, which not only adds to the beauty of the growing city, but also provides recreational and edutainment facilities to residents,” Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Industry and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, said after the inauguration of the park. It is the first technology-based recreational theme park in the Gulf. While the municipality has spent Dh200 million to develop the park, private investors invested Dh300 million in different projects, including Stargate Family Edutainment Centre, a sports club and restaurants.

December 27

1825 - First public railroad pulled by a steam locomotive is completed in England.

1932 - Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City.

1943 - German warship Scharnhorst sinks in Barents Sea during Second World War.

1944 - Soviet forces surround Budapest during Second World War.

1945 - The World Bank is created with an agreement signed by 28 nations.

1956 - United Nations fleet begins clearing the Suez Canal after the Suez War.

1968 - US Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, returns safely to Earth after a historic six-day journey.

1969 - Libya, Sudan and United Arab Republic announce political, economic and military agreement in Tripoli.

1978 - Algerian President Houari Boumedienne, who ruled Algeria for more than 13 years, dies after six weeks in coma.

1979 - The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

1989 - Egypt and Syria resume diplomatic relations, ending a decade-old rift.

1991 - All 129 passengers and crew survive when a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crash-lands in a field after both engines failed two minutes into a flight from Stockholm.

1992 - US shoots down an Iraqi fighter aircraft when two Iraqi warplanes turned to confront US F-16 jets in UN-restricted airspace over southern Iraq.

1995 - Israeli troops in Ramallah end 28 years of occupation.

2007 - Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a bomb blast in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

2009 - UAE signs agreement with South Korea to build four civilian nuclear reactors.