In Kuwait
1976 — An amiri order dissolves the National Assembly for the first time
On 29 August 1976 the amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, issued an amiri order dissolving the National Assembly and suspending four articles of the 1962 constitution: article 56 in its third paragraph, article 107, article 174 and article 181. It was the first dissolution of the assembly in Kuwait’s history.
Article 107 is the one providing that if the assembly is dissolved, elections for a new one must be held within two months of the dissolution. The assembly did not return until an amiri decree of 24 August 1980 called it back, and elections were held in February 1981.
1966 — The first fatal accident in the air force’s history
First lieutenant Hassan Al Zaabi was killed in the crash of a Hunter military aircraft, the first accident of its kind in the history of the Kuwait Air Force. That force traces its beginnings to 1953, when the flying club was set up at the wish of Sheikh Abdullah Al Mubarak Al Sabah to train young Kuwaitis who wanted to fly, equipped with eight Auster training aircraft. The runway known as Nugra airport had opened between 1946 and 1948.
1998 — Gulf swimming gold
Kuwait’s team won the tenth GCC men’s swimming championship, held in Abu Dhabi.
2023 — Kuwait and Britain sign on a cyber security centre
Kuwait and the United Kingdom signed a declaration of intent on cooperation in cyber security, including the establishment of the Kuwait National Cyber Security Centre. It was signed for Kuwait by the centre’s head, Major General Mohammad Bouarki, and for Britain by Juliet Wilcox, the UK’s cyber security ambassador for defence and security exports.
In the world
1949 and 1991 — The same date opened the site and closed it
On 29 August 1949 the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb, known as “Joe 1”, at the Semipalatinsk site in Kazakhstan. On the same date in 1991 the site was closed for good; it had been the main Soviet testing ground.
The international day was built on that coincidence: by resolution 64/35 of 2 December 2009, on Kazakhstan’s initiative, the UN General Assembly made 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests, marking the closure of Semipalatinsk.
2005 — Katrina makes landfall in Louisiana
Hurricane Katrina reached land near the town of Buras in Louisiana at 11:10 GMT on 29 August 2005, as a category three storm with sustained winds estimated at 110 knots. According to the official report of the US National Hurricane Center, direct and indirect deaths came to about fourteen hundred, and damage was put at 125 billion dollars in 2005 prices — which keeps it the costliest hurricane in United States history after adjusting for inflation.
Sources: Kuwait News Agency, “on this day in Kuwait” calendar · KUNA report on the founding of the Kuwait Air Force · GlobaLex, NYU School of Law, study of the Kuwaiti legal system · United Nations, page for the International Day against Nuclear Tests and General Assembly resolution 64/35 · the official US National Hurricane Center report on Katrina.
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