Emirates launches its first direct flight to London
1987 - Emirates inaugurated its Dubai-London non-stop service with a full complement. The reception before the departure from the Dubai International Airport and the rousing welcome seven hours later at London’s Gatwick airport were something the passengers are unlikely to forget in a hurry. Top officials from Emirates, the Dubai Civil Aviation Department, Dnata, representatives of airlines and members of the media gathered at the airport to see off flight EK001. Roses, clocks and special certificates signed by the Emirates chairman, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, were presented to the passengers. Clocks, which will be given away to passengers throughout this month, demonstrate the message of the airline’s marketing campaign — on-time, no-delay.
July 6
1777 - British forces capture Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution.
1785 - The dollar is unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States.
1907 - The world’s first purpose-built motor-racing track opens at Brooklands, Surrey.
1917 - Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence capture the port of Aqaba from the Turks during the First World War.
1923 - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed.
1928 - The first all-talking motion picture, The Lights of New York, is shown in New York.
1952 - The last trams in London are withdrawn from service.
1957 - Althea Gibson becomes first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title.
1975 - Comoros declares independence from France.
1984 - Eight Sikh hijackers of an Indian airliner free all 256 hostages, ending a 20-hour drama.
1987 - Former Hungarian leader Janos Kadar dies at the age of 77.
1988 - A Pakistan air force jet fighter crashes into a factory and explodes in a busy area of Karachi, killing 14 people.
1990 - Nato allies pledge to reduce both nuclear and conventional forces in Europe.
1994 - Nigeria charges Moshood Abiola, winner of an annulled presidential vote in 1993, with treason.
1995 - Floods cut through some of southern China’s poorest, most isolated areas, raising the death toll to near 600.
1997 - Opposition leader Cuauhtemoc Cardenas wins the first mayoral election in Mexico City.
1998 - The new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok begin operating.
2001 - Ex-FBI agent Robert Hanssen pleads guilty of selling secrets to Russia.
2002 - Afghan Vice-President Haji Abdul Qadeer is assassinated.
2006 - India and China reopen a famed Silk Road pass in the Himalayas.
2008 - The UAE writes off all the debts owed by Iraq as a sign of brotherhood.
2016 - South African Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to six years in prison for his girlfriend’s murder.
