1993 - The use of child jockeys in camel racing has been banned according to the regulations issued by the Camel Race Association under the direction of President His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The regulations, which apply to all the seven emirates, are intended to clarify the rules of the sport and will be considered in a trial phase. The children are prohibited from racing and all jockeys must meet with the international standards set for horse jockeys, weighing no less than 45 kilogrammes. In addition, all camel riders or “Rakkeeba” must undergo a medical check-up to ascertain themselves fit for riding and must wear a safety helmet during races. Special cards will be issued to all camel racers as a form of registration with Camel Race Association.
Other important events
1778 - Australia is settled by the British.
1788 - First fleet of ships bringing convicts from Britain arrive in Australia to establish penal colonies.
1837 - Michigan becomes the 26th US state.
1841 - Britain occupies Hong Kong.
1930 - Mahatma Gandhi begins a march across India to protest British occupation.
1950 - India becomes an independent republic with Rajendra Prasad as its first president.
1952 - Famed Shepherd’s Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, is burned during riots by mobs demanding British withdrawal from the Suez.
1957 - Kashmir Constitution for incorporation with India goes into effect.
1978 - Mario Soares forms Portuguese government.
1986 - Thousands of Sikhs with swords and shotguns take over Golden Temple in Amritsar, India.
1988 - Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera opens on Broadway.
1989 - Soviet and Afghan forces launch artillery bombardment.
1992 - Award winning actor and director Jose Ferrer dies.
1998 - US President Bill Clinton denies sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.
2001 - A powerful earthquake kills more than 30,000 people in Bhuj, Gujarat, India.
2005 - Condoleezza Rice becomes US Secretary of State, the first African-American woman to hold the post.
2006 - Palestinian group Hamas wins a landslide victory in parliamentary elections.
2008 - Palestinian leader George Habash dies.
2010 - A Boeing 737 of Ethiopian Airlines crashes into the sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut, killing all 90 people aboard.
2013 - 245 people are killed when a fire engulfs a crowded nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil.
2014 - A top executive of India’s Tata Motors, Karl Slym, 51, commits suicide, falling from the 22nd floor of a Bangkok hotel.
2015 - Radical Left leader Alexis Tsipras is sworn in as new Greek Prime Minister.
2016 - The Danish parliament adopts controversial reforms on asylum seekers.
