Free midday parking in Sharjah to end

Free parking between 1 and 5pm will be scrapped soon as signs on new timings are installed |

February 24 1656

- Spain declares war on England.

1783 - Spain recognises independence of United States.

1801 - Aleksandr P. Romanov becomes emperor of Russia.

1821 - Mexico declares independence from Spain.

1848 - French king Louis Philippe is overthrown by revolutionary citizens.

1920 - Nazi Party is organised in Germany. 1924 - Greece becomes a republic. 1945 - Egyptian Premier Ahmad Pasha is assassinated in parliament.

1946 - Juan Peron is elected to the first of three presidential terms in Argentina.

1979 - War between North and South Yemen begins.

1981 - Britain’s Prince Charles announces his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer.

1988 - Matti Nykanen becomes Winter Olympics’ first triple gold medalist.

1996 - Dubai Shopping Festival is officially inaugurated.

1997 - The world’s first liquefied natural gas exporting facility is inaugurated in Qatar.

2000 - Mayon, one of the Philippines’ deadliest volcanoes, erupts, forcing about 30,000 people to flee.

2004 - A 6.5-magnitude quake rocks northern Morocco, killing more than 550 people.

2005 - Somalis sing and shout to welcome President Abdullah Yusuf Ahmad as he makes his first trip home since his government-inexile was formed last year.

2006 - Saudi Arabia forces foil suicide attack on oil complex.

2007 - Australia’s Matthew Hayden smashes fastest World Cup century against South Africa.

2008 - Raul Castro takes over from his brother Fidel Castro as Cuban President.

2013 - Regional African leaders sign a deal aimed at bringing peace and stability to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2014 - UAE’s Florence Nightingale Salma Al Sharhan dies at the age of 80 in Ras Al Khaimah.

2015 - UN climate panel chief Rajendra Pachauri steps down after sex harassment claims.

2016 - Concourse D opens at Dubai International Airport.