Iraq said it would start pulling its troops out of Kuwait after 40 days of war. Baghdad Radio said Iraq’s armed forces had proved their ability to fight and would now withdraw to positions occupied before their August 2 invasion. Saddam Hussain had earlier ordered his occupation armies out of the country declaring they had won the 40-day Gulf war by fighting art epic battle against the US-led allies. Baghdad Radio broadcast the statement after two days of a massive ground offensive launched by the US and its allies to end Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait. “Orders have been issued to our armed forces to withdraw in an organised manner to the positions they held prior to August 1, 1990,” the radio said. “This is regarded as a practical compliance with [UN Security Council] Resolution 660,” it added. “Our armed forces which have proven their ability to fight and stand fast will confront any attempt to harm it while it is carrying out the withdrawal order.”
Other important events
1713 Sweden’s King Charles XII is taken prisoner by the Ottoman Sultan.
1793 US President George Washington convenes the first Cabinet meeting.
1836 American inventor Samuel Colt patents his revolver.
1870 Hiram R. Revels becomes the first black member of the US Senate.
1885 Germany annexes Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
1913 The 16th Amendment of the US Constitution, authorising income tax, goes into effect.
1948 Communists stage a coup in Czechoslovakia.
1951 The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1955 Great Britain completes construction of HMS Ark Royal, its largest ever aircraft carrier.
1964 American boxer Muhammad Ali defeats heavyweight champion Sonny Liston at Miami Beach.
1976 US veto UN resolution deploring Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem.
1986 Philippines President Ferdinand E. Marcos resigns and flees to US air base.
1988 India tests surface-to-surface missile joining US, Soviet Union, China and France.
1993 Kim Young-sam becomes President of South Korea, the first civilian president since 1960.
1994 Jewish colonist Baruch Goldstein massacres 30 Palestinians in Hebron.
1995 Two bombs blow apart a train car reserved for the military in India, killing at least 26 soldiers.
1998 Veteran pro-democracy campaigner Kim Dae-jung becomes President of South Korea.
2001 Peace talks aimed at resolving Burundi’s 7-year-old civil war end without resolution.
2002 Mugabe’s opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, is accused of treason over alleged plot to assassinate president in Zimbabwe.
2003 Pakistani bowler Wasim Akram creates one-day cricket history at Boland Park by becoming the first to take 500 wickets.
2003 Two bomb blasts damage the Colombian consulate and Spanish Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.
2005 Argentina completes the biggest debt restructuring in history.
2006 A six-story building housing shops and offices collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 20 people.
2008 Communist leader Dimitris Christofias wins Cyprus’ crucial presidential runoff.
2013 Park Geun-hye is inaugurated as South Korea’s new president.
2014 Ukraine’s parliament vote to send fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych to be tried by the International Criminal Court.
2015 Dubai unveils 16 car charging stations for hybrid and electric cars for public use.
