2003 - A new free zone exclusively for media production houses is to be built by Dubai Media City (DMC). The International Media Production Zone will come up on 35 million square feet of greenfield land along Emirates Road. Initial investments on infrastructure alone will exceed Dh400 million. The sums will far exceed Dh1 billion with the signing up of new companies wishing to set up operations there. In the first phase, over three million square feet have been allocated to the printing and publishing sector. Already, 1.6 million square feet have been snapped up by eight prospective tenants, confirmed DMC officials. The promoters expect up to 600 firms to sign up for space.
Other important events
1790 - France’s King Louis XVI accepts the revolutionary constitution.
1934 - Oil pipeline between Iraq and Lebanon is opened.
1948 - Six Royal Air Force De Havilland Vampire planes fly from Britain to Canada, the first jet aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
1953 - IBM announces the IBM 650 – the world’s first mass-produced computer.
1958 - Iraq is declared a republic after King Faisal II is killed in a military coup.
1959 - The first nuclear warship is launched, the 14,000-tonne cruiser USS Long Beach.
1987 - Two bomb blasts rip through a shopping area in Karachi, killing at least 72 people.
2002 - A test launch of a supersonic jetliner envisaged to replace Concorde ends in disaster after exploding in the South Australian desert.
2008 - Face scanning system inaugurated at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
2013 - 17 spectators are crushed to death at a boxing match in eastern Indonesia after supporters of the loser start a riot.
