1993 - The United Nations demanded that Afghanistan arrest gunmen who shot dead four UN workers, including a Briton and a Dutch water resources expert, in an ambush outside the eastern city of Jalalabad. Three armed men opened fire on two UN vehicles at Surkhdiwal, in the most serious attack on UN officials since they began operating in Afghanistan in 1989. Briton Tony Bullard, who worked for the UN Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), Dutch water resources consultant Hans Van Hoeflaken and two Afghan drivers Abdul Hadi and Zia ul Haq were killed. The gunmen had apparently been lying in wait, one UN official said. It was not known who was responsible for the attack. Authorities were asked to conduct a full probe into the murder of aid workers.
Other important events
1842 - City Despatch Post begins operating in New York City.
1893 - The world’s first film production studio opens Thomas Edison’s Black Maria in West Orange, US.
1896 - Crete begins revolution against Turkey.
1899 - US flag is raised over Pacific island of Guam, formerly under Spanish control.
1908 - Portugal’s King Carlos I and Crown Prince are murdered in Lisbon.
1924 - Britain recognises the Communist government of Soviet Union.
1925 - Ahmet Zogu becomes the first President of Albania.
1948 - The Federation of Malaya is established.
1956 - Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile.
1984 - China and Netherlands resume diplomatic ties.
1992 - US President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign Camp David declaration of the end of the Cold War.
1998 - Miguel Angel Rodriguez wins the presidency in Costa Rica.
2000 - UAE issues federal law on the establishment of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Market.
2002 - American journalist Daniel Pearl is executed by Pakistani militants nine days after his abduction.
2003 - Space shuttle Columbia breaks up over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board.
2004 - At least 250 pilgrims are crushed to death during a devil-stoning ritual in Mina, Saudi Arabia.
2008 - Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum becomes Crown Prince of Dubai.
2009 - The Hamdan Bin Mohammad e-University formerly known as the e-TQM college is launched in Dubai.
2012 - Riots after a football match in Egypt’s Port Saeed leave 73 people dead.
2015 - An Egyptian court bans the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas and lists it as a “terrorist” organisation.
2016 - The Sharjah Consultative Council announces the preliminary list of 21 winners after counting votes.
