1993 The UN forces bombed selected targets in Mogadishu to avenge the slaying of 23 Pakistani peace-keepers, destroying arms stores and a radio station belonging to warlord Mohammad Farah Aidid. UN ground troops, who killed two Somalis when they shot at stone-throwing protesters and took more than 200 suspected gunmen prisoner, encountered scattered sniper fire. Hospital sources reported a total of five people killed and more than 20 wounded in the operation, which launched a concerted UN drive to disarm clan gunmen who have held Somalia to ransom for more than two years. Crowds took to the streets to protest against the military strike, which started with a pre-dawn air raid against selected targets in the sector of the ramshackle capital held by Aidid. Witnesses said Pakistani forces opened fire with no warning on several hundred Somalis, chanting “Down with the UN” and “America, thief”, after they stoned a UN compound.
Other important events
1898 Philippine nationalists declare independence from Spain.
1909 The Queensboro Bridge, linking the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens in New York City, opens.
1917 King Constantine of Greece abdicates, making way for son Alexander.
1935 Paraguay and Bolivia sign a truce ending a bloody three-year Chaco War.
1938 Dikes on the Yellow River burst, killing 150,000 Chinese in the ensuing floods.
1964 Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.
1976 A military coup in Uruguay overthrows civilian president Juan Bordaberry, beginning a nine-year dictatorship.
1979 American Bryan Allen becomes the first man ever to fly across the English Channel by human power alone.
1985 Shiite militants free more than 60 hostages and blew up a hijacked Royal Jordanian jetliner at Beirut airport.
1990 The Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
1994 The Boeing 777, the world’s largest twinjet, makes its first flight.
1997 The Dreamland Aqua Park is opened in Umm Al Quwain.
1998 Pakistan signs an open-skies agreement with Dubai.
2005 Maasouma Al Mubarak is appointed as first woman member of Kuwait cabinet.
2007 Emirates Wildlife Society declares Wadi Wurayah in Fujairah a protected zone.
2008 Nepalese officials take control of the main royal palace in Kathmandu, a day after deposed King Gyanendra left to begin life as a civilian.
2009 Harith Al Obaidi, the head of the Iraqi parliament’s biggest Sunni bloc is killed in Baghdad.
2013 UAE present the bid to host Expo 2020 in Paris.
2015 Swedish Prince Carl Philip marries Sofia Hellqvist in Stockholm.
2016 At least 20 people are killed in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando shooting.
