May 31
1884 Dr John Harvey Kellogg applies for a patent for flaked cereal.
1910 Union of South Africa is founded.
1911 General Porfirio Diaz goes into exile in France, ending 34 years as strongman president of Mexico.
1916 HMS Invincible explodes, killing 1026 people.
1926 Portuguese president Bernardino Machedo resigns after coup.
1931 Oil is found in Bahrain, the first petroleum discovery in the Arab world.
1961 South Africa becomes independent republic outside British Commonwealth.
1965 Scottish Formula One world champion Jim Clark wins the Indianapolis 500.
1966 Court in the Congo sentences former premier Evariste Kimba and three others to death on charges of plotting a coup.
1970 Earthquake hits Peru, leaving more than 66,000 dead, 20,000 missing.
1973 US Senate votes to cut off all funds for US bombing operations in Cambodia.
1974 Israel and Syria sign an agreement concerning the Golan Heights.
1976 Indonesia completes its takeover of East Timor.
1977 The trans-Alaska oil pipeline is completed after three years of work.
1979 Zimbabwe proclaims independence.
1985 English Football Clubs ban from Europe following Heysel Stadium Disaster.
1987 Brazilian Ayrton Senna wins the Monaco Grand Prix.
1990 Terrorists attack a private bus killing at least 30 of its passengers near the Korangi township in Karachi.
1991 Angolan peace accords are signed in Lisbon, ending a 16-year civil war.
1999 Major fire sweeps through a New Delhi shopping complex killing 16 people
2000 Hong Kong closes its last refugee camp for Vietnamese boat people.
2005 Emaar Properties sign an agreement with Italian fashion group Giorgio Armani to invest $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) in hotel industry.
2006 US and Vietnam sign a trade pact that removes one of the last major hurdles in Hanoi’s bid to join the World Trade Organisation.
2007 The Vatican and the UAE sign a communique to establish diplomatic ties.
2009 Famed writer and painter Kamala Das dies in Pune after battling diabetes at the age of 75.
2010 Tropical storm Agatha leaves an 18-metre wide sinkhole in Guatemala City, killing 180 across Central America.
2013 Oklahoma tornadoes kill 5 people and wreak massive damage in the area.
HIGHLIGHT
1996
Sinn Fein claims seat at talks
Sinn Fein, banned from Northern Ireland peace talks until its IRA guerrilla allies declare a truce, scored upset wins in Northern Ireland elections and claimed a place at the negotiating table next month. Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams challenged British Prime Minister John Major to admit his party to the June 10 peace talks like any other party which won seats at the poll. “He [Major] imposed this election. He said it was a route to all-party talks. That’s what people voted for and that’s what should happen,” a jubilant Adams said. But Major said: “I hope the IRA will now heed this democratic vote for peace by declaring an unequivocal ceasefire, thus opening the way for Sinn Fein’s representatives to take part in the negotiations with the other parties.” Sinn Fein’s share of the vote was 15.5 per cent, its biggest ever. The unexpectedly good showing was a snub to the British government and a setback to its more moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party rival.
