Today in History

November 24

1874 - Barbed wire is patented by American Joseph F. Glidden.

1935 - King George II of Greece returns to his homeland after 12 years in exile in London.

1942 - Germans suffer heavy losses in Battle of Stalingrad in Soviet Union in Second World War.

1948 - Ireland votes for independence from UK.

1955 - The Fokker F-27 Friendship turboprop airliner makes its first flight.

1956 - The UN General Assembly presses Britain, France and Israel for withdrawal of their troops from Egypt.

1961 - UN Security Council calls on UN members to make Africa a nuclear weapons-free zone.

1963 - Lee Harvey Oswald, accused of assassinating US president John F. Kennedy, is shot dead.

1975 - Earthquake in eastern Turkey kills at least 574 people.

1979 - The UAE’s first electric cable factory is opened in Jebel Ali, Dubai.

1985 - Egyptian commandos storm hijacked Egyptian airliner at Malta.

1987 - US and the Soviet Union agree to scrap short and medium-range missiles in the first superpower treaty.

1987 - China names Li Peng as acting premier.

1988 - Bangladesh is hit by the worst cyclone in its history, killing more than 5,000 people.

1989 - Elias Hrawi is elected President of Lebanon, following the assassination of Rene Mouawad.

1991 - Rock star Freddie Mercury dies of Aids in London.

2001 - Malaysian police arrest Nur Misuari, leader of the Moro National Liberation Front.

2006 - China signs a five-year free trade pact with Pakistan.

2007 - Labour leader Kevin Rudd is elected Australia’s prime minister.

2010 - Rolls Royce inks $1.2 billion (Dh4.41 billion) Emirates airline deal.

2012 - 112 factory workers die in Bangladesh when a nine storey garment factory building catches fire. 2013 - Iran strikes a historic agreement with the US and five other world powers, accepting strict constraints on its nuclear programme.

2014 - US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel announces his resignation.