Today in History

March 29

1882 - The Knights of Columbus is chartered in Connecticut.

1849 - Britain annexes Punjab in India by treaty with the Maharaja of Lahore.

1867 - British Parliament passes the North America Act to create the dominion of Canada.

1901 - Australia’s first federal elections are held, with the Labor Party winning power.

1943 - Rationing of meat, butter and cheese in US begins during the Second World War.

1971 - Army Lieutenant William L. Calley Jr is convicted of murdering at least 22 Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre.

1973 - The last US troops leave South Vietnam.

1989 - PLO Executive Committee nominates Yasser Arafat as president.

1993 - The UAE government issues a decree to set up the UAE Federal Environmental Authority.

1999 - Dow Jones industrial average closes above 10,000 for first time.

2002 - Israeli troops storm Yasser Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, West Bank.

2004 - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join Nato.

2006 - Hamas formally takes over the Palestinian government.

2007 - Indonesia reopens its border with East Timor.

2008 - Zimbabweans vote on whether to keep the ruler blamed by opponents for their country’s economic collapse.

2012 - HSBC Bank Middle East announces the acquisition of Lloyds Banking Group’s UAE operations worth $769 million.

2013 - A massive landslide buries 83 gold miners in Tibet.

2016 - A lone hijacker Saif Al Deen Mustafa surrenders in Cyprus after hijacking EgyptAir flight 181 from Alexandria to Cairo.