Former CIA director William Casey dies
1987 - William Casey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a key figure in the Iran arms-Contra aid scandal, died of pneumonia in a New York hospital. He was 74. Casey, who had a cancerous tumour removed from his brain, was admitted to the intensive care unit of community hospital of Glen Cove. Casey died of aspirational pneumonia. Casey testified before three congressional committees probing the Iran-contra scandal and would have testified in new hearings when he suffered a pair of minor seizures at his CIA office in Langley, Virginia. Three days later he underwent brain cancer surgery and was hospitalised and returned to the hospital for more treatment. Casey had resigned as CIA chief in February.
May 6
1757 - Prussia’s King Frederick II defeats the Holy Roman Empire forces at Prague.
1889 - The Paris Exposition, with the newly-built Eiffel Tower, opens.
1937 - German dirigible Hindenburg explodes on landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36.
1941 - Josef Stalin becomes Premier of the Soviet Union.
1942 - US-Filipino forces on island of Corregidor in Manila Bay surrender to the Japanese in Second World War.
1955 - West Germany joins Nato.
1967 - Zakir Hussain is elected Indian President.
1972 - Fighting breaks out between South Yemen and Oman.
1980 - Dubai issues a decree creating a free zone in the Jebel Ali Port area.
2001 - Pope John Paul makes history by becoming the first pontiff ever to enter a mosque in Syria.
2005 - The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority approves du to operate in the UAE, which ends etisalat’s monopoly.
2007 - Nicolas Sarkozy is elected French President.
2008 - The UAE capital’s bourse is renamed the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
2009 - South Africa’s parliament chooses Jacob Zuma as President.
2010 - Nigeria’s acting leader Goodluck Jonathan is sworn in as President of Nigeria.
2012 - Socialist Francois Hollande is elected French President.
2014 - UAE launches a joint venture project in Greece at a total cost of €7 billion (Dh28 billion).
2015 - The UAE and the European Union sign a landmark agreement allowing Emirati citizens to visit all Schengen countries without a visa.
2016 - Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, becomes London’s first Muslim Mayor.
