1997 - The world’s largest Islamic bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), was formally established by a decree of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The new ADIB will have a paid-up capital of Dh1 billion, overtaking Egypt’s Faisal Islamic Bank for the top spot. The Abu Dhabi government is to retain a 10 per cent stake in the institution. The private department of President His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is taking a 5 per cent stake, while the bank’s founding committee has retained 24 per cent for its members. The remaining Dh610 million will be raised through public subscription. ADIB is entering an “overbanked” market, as observed by the UAE Central Bank.
Other important events
1819 - The first bicycles in the US roll along the streets of New York.
1840 - New Zealand is declared a British colony.
1881 - American Red Cross is founded by Clara Barton.
1923 - Stanley Baldwin is elected Prime Minister of Britain after the resignation of Andrew Bonar Lar.
1927 - US aviator Charles A. Lindbergh completes the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
1956 - First hydrogen bomb is exploded by United States over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
1967 - More than 300 people die in a department store fire in Brussels, Belgium.
1982 - British paratroopers and Royal Marine Commandos storm Falkland Islands.
1993 - Venezuelan Senate suspends President Carlos Andres Perez over embezzlement allegations.
1996 - A ferry strikes a rock and sinks in Lake Victoria in Tanzania. About 550 people drown.
1997 - Ukraine and Poland sign a reconciliation agreement to formally end conflict and put centuries of bloodshed behind them.
1998 - Indonesian President Suharto resigns, bringing his 32-year reign to dramatic close.
2000 - UAE and Jordan sign agreements on the establishment of a free trade zone.
2002 - The US lifts a freeze on financial aid to Yugoslavia.
2003 - A 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Algeria, killing at least 2,200 people.
2014 - Jacob Zuma is re-elected President of South Africa for a second term.
2016 - Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour is killed in a US drone strike in Balochistan.
