Today in 1947 John Reid, Scottish Labour politician, was born.

Elected MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill in 1997, Reid was Scottish Secretary from 1999 to 2001, and Northern Ireland Secretary from 2001 to 2002 . He was the first Roman Catholic to hold the post. Reid is currently the chairman of Celtic Football Club.

On 8 May 1945, V.E.(Victory in Europe) day marked the end of World War II in Europe. The Allies overran Germany from the west during April 1945 as Russian forces advanced from the east. On April 25, American and Soviet forces met at the Elbe River. Five days later, Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker. At 2:41 a.m. on May 7, General Jodl signed for the unconditional surrender of German forces on all fronts, which was to take effect on May 8 at 11:01 p.m. Over 50,000 Scottish servicemen lost their lives during the conflict.

Today's recipe: try your hand at some classic Chinese cuisine.