International Events in 2000

Jan. 1:

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. Richard Holbrooke the first President of the U.N. Security Council.

Jan. 2:

At least 300 Chechen rebels die in Russian air-strikes on targets in southern Chechnya.

Jan. 5:

Thirteen persons die as a woman suicide bomber triggers a blast in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, around 9.10 a.m. A couple of hours later, Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam (61), the leader of the All-Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) and a well-known lawyer, shot dead by unidentified gunmen in a Tamil residential area in Colombo.

Jan. 6:

Israel hands over more of the West Bank to Palestinian rule.

Jan. 7:

Ecuador under a state of emergency following protest rallies seeking the resignation of the President, Mr. Jamil Mahmud.

Jan. 9:

The authoritarian Uzbek President, Mr. Islam Karimov wins election.

Jan. 10:

Israel and the Palestinians resume peace talks.

Jan. 11:

Mr. Park Tae-Joon, new Prime Minister of South Korea.

Elian to stay in U.S. until hearing on status, rules a Florida family court judge.

Jan. 12:

The Algerian Islamic group, Islamic Salvation Army and its political arm, the Islamic Salvation Front renounce militancy.

Jan. 13:

The U.S. Attorney General, Ms. Janet Reno upholds decision giving custody of Elian Gonzalez to his Cuban father.

Jan. 14:

Team constituted to probe rights abuses in Spice Islands.

Jan. 16:

Mr. Alfonso Portillo takes oath as Guatemala President.

Jan. 18:

Russian forces launch decisive onslaught on the rebel-held Chechen capital, Grozny.

The former German Chancellor, Mr. Helmut Kohl is forced to resign as chairman of the Christian Democratic Party.

Jan. 19:

A Karachi anti-terrorist court formally charges the former Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif and six others with kidnapping, attempted murder, hijacking and terrorism.

Probe ordered against the Israeli President, Mr. Ezer Weizman over alleged financial improprieties.

Jan. 20:

Rebels capture top Russian army official, Gen. Mikhail Malafeyev, Deputy Chief Commander of the northern group of Russian forces in Chechnya.

Jan. 23:

Ecuador's Vice-President, Mr. Gustavo Noboa assumes the Presidency of the Andean nation.

Karen rebels seize hospital in Thailand.

Jan. 25:

The Sudanese President, Mr. Umar El-Bashir fires his entire Government and appoints a new Cabinet.

Thailand's elite commandos in a pre-dawn swoop free all the hostages held in a hospital in the Ratchaburi province by 10 terrorists of the God's Army.

Jan. 26:

The Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Saiduzzaman Siddique replaced and six others cease to be judges of the apex court after refusing to take oath under the provisional Constitutional order No. 1. Mr. Justice Irshad Hussain Khan becomes new Chief Justice.

The Irish poet Seamus Heaney (60), wins the pound 23,000 White Bread Book of the Year Award for his translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf.

The South African Parliament passes Equality Bill seeking to end the legacy of apartheid.

Jan. 27:

Mr. Ivan Racan, president of the Social Democratic Party becomes Croatia's new Prime Minister.

Jan. 29:

Over 170 passengers die as a Kenya Airways plane crashes into the sea off Cote D'Ivore.

Jan. 31:

The former Chilean dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet can return home, rules a British judge.

Feb. 1:

Eightyeight people die as an Alaska Airlines jet crashes into the Pacific Ocean, 65 km northwest of the Los Angeles Airport.

Fresh round of multilateral talks on the future of West Asia opens in Moscow.

Feb. 3:

The plane carrying the Pak. Army Chief from Colombo to Karachi on Oct. 12 last year denied landing permission, says the captain deposing as a prosecution witness.

The Palestinian leader, Mr. Yasser Arafat and the Israeli President, Mr. Ehud Barak meet on the Gaza border to hammer out a framework agreement.

New Coalition Government takes office in Austria.

Feb. 4:

EU slaps sanctions on Vienna in protest against the inclusion of the right wing Freedom Party of Mr. Georg Haider in the Government.

Feb. 5:

The Conservative Party expels for five years the best-selling novelist, Lord Jeffrey Archer, forced to drop out of the race for London Mayor after admitting he once asked his friend to lie for him in a libel case.

Feb. 7:

Ms. Tarja Halonen (56) becomes Finland's President.

Bangladesh High Court defers confirming death penalty awarded to 15 former military commanders convicted for the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 25 years ago.

British MPs vote for direct rule in Ulster.

Feb. 8:

Mr. Stipe Mesic (65) wins presidential election in Croatia.

Feb. 9:

The Pakistani Government appoints Mr. Inam-ul-Huque, a career diplomat as Foreign Secretary, replacing Mr. Shamshad Ahmed.

The Austrian Chancellor, Mr. Wolfgang Schuessel's coalition Government wins no-trust vote.

Feb. 11:

Britain announces suspension of Northern Ireland's 72-day-old coalition Government of pro-British protestants and pro-home rule Roman Catholics.

Feb. 12:

Zimbabwean voters reject the new Draft Constitution in a referendum.

Feb. 14:

The Indonesian President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid places Gen. Wiranto under `suspension' as the Senior Minister for Politics and Security and installs Mr. Suryadi Sudiya in his place.

Feb. 15:

The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak defeats a no-confidence motion put forth by Arab Israeli parties in Parliament over retaliatory air strikes in Lebanon.

Feb. 16:

Fiftyseven people die in clashes between LTTE rebels and Government troops in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

The Irish Republican Army pulls out of talks to determine when it will lay down its weapons.

Feb. 18:

Mr. Stipe Mesic sworn in Croatia President.

Feb. 20:

The U.S. director Paul Thomas Anderson's film Magnolia bags the Golden Bear award at the 50th Berlinale Film Festival.

India-born Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh (52), leader of New Democratic Party sworn in Canada's first Indo-Canadian Premier of British Columbia.

Feb. 23:

The United Nations takes East Timor under its protective wings at a formal ceremony in Dili, the territory's capital.

Carlos Santana bags seven Grammys for his comeback album ``supernatural'' that included ``smooth'', his first No. 1 single. Singer Elton John gets Grammy legend award.

Feb. 24:

Blast in Philippine bus leaves 45 persons dead.

Pope John Paul II arrives in Egypt, beginning a pilgrimage to retrace the steps of Moses.

Feb. 25:

The Taiwan President, Mr. Lee Teng Hui calls China a `hooligan' and upholds his controversial statehood claim in defiance of Beijing's renewed military threats.

Mar. 2:

The French Constitutional Council president, Mr. Roland Dumas resigns following corruption charges.

Mar. 3:

The former Chilean dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet returns home a free man after the British Home Secretary announces that he is too ill to stand trial in Spain on charges of torture.

The veteran politician, Mr. Jorge Batlle (72) sworn in Uruguay's new President.

Mar. 4:

The United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia condemns the Bosnian Croat General Tihomir Blaskic to 45 years in prison for atrocities committed by members of the militia he commanded during the Bosnian war from 1992-95.

Mar. 5:

PPL Therapeutics, the British biopharmaceutical company that helped clone Dolly, creates the world's first cloned pigs using nuclear transfer.

Mar. 6:

Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Nat King Cole in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for an unprecedented third time.

Mar. 7:

Mr. George W. Bush (Republican Party) and Mr. Albert Gore Jr. (Democrats) emerge front runners in American presidential election at the conclusion of the primaries.

Mar. 10:

Twenty one persons die in Colombo in an explosion triggered by an LTTE suicide bomber and subsequent exchange of fire.

Mr. Iqbal Radh, a top lawyer defending the deposed Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif dies after being shot by four gunmen in Karachi.

Mar. 11:

The Greek President, Mr. Konstantinos Stefanopoulos (74), sworn in for a second five-year term in office.

Eighty miners die after a methane gas explosion in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region.

Mr. Ricardo Lagos (62) sworn in Chile's new President.

Mar. 12:

The ruling Partido Popular of the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr. Jose Maria Aznar wins absolute majority in Parliament.

Chechen warlord and one of Russia's most wanted men, Salman Raduyev nabbed and brought to Moscow for trial.

Mr. Jens Stoltenberg is Norwegian Prime Minister.

Mar. 13:

A Bosnian Serb General Radislav Krstic (52) charged with overseeing the massacre of thousands of Muslim men and boys after the enclave of Srebrenica was overrun in July 1995 goes on trial at The Hague.

Mar. 16:

A Pakistani judge sentences a serial child killer, Javed Iqbal to death by strangling after finding him guilty of murdering and mutilating 100 children.

Mar. 17:

Reggiani Gucci (51), widow of the fashion mogul Maurizio Gucci gets a 26-year prison sentence for ordering his death in execution-style.

Fearing that the end of the world was nearing, as many as 500 members of a Ugandan doomsday cult commit suicide.

Mar. 18:

The pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party leader, Mr. Chen Shui-bian (49), wins Presidential election in Taiwan.

Mar. 19:

The Israeli Cabinet approves transfer of a part of West Bank to Palestinian control.

Mar. 21:

An octogenarian Austrian physician, Dr. Heinrich Gross goes on trial in Vienna for his `key role' in the Nazis' child euthanasia programme during the Third Reich.

Israel begins withdrawing troops from 6.1 per cent of West Bank as part of a land-for-security deal.

Mar. 22:

Pope John Paul II makes an impassioned plea for a Palestinian homeland at the start of a historic visit to the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

At least 50 people die in a blast while trying to tap an oil pipeline in southeastern Nigeria.

Mar. 23:

Rwanda's President, Mr. Pasteur Bizimungu, resigns after falling out with colleagues in the ruling Tutsi-dominated Rwanda Patriotic Front over the make-up of a new Cabinet.

Mar. 24:

Mr. Horst Koehler of Germany takes over as the International Monetary Fund Managing Director and Chairman.

Mar. 26:

The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton and the Syrian President, Mr. Hafez-al-Assad hold a crucial summit aimed at reviving stalled Israeli-Syrian peace talks.

Russia's acting President, Mr. Vladimir Putin coasts to victory in the Presidential polls capturing over a half of all votes cast.

``American Beauty'', a dark comedy about suburban alienation and family dysfunction wins over five Oscar awards.

Mar. 28:

The former Zambian President, Mr. Kenneth Kannda quits politics after 40-year-old career.

Mar. 29:

Mr. Tang Fei, is Taiwanese Prime Minister.

Mar. 30:

Thirty six Sri Lankan soldiers and four crew members of an AN-26 military aircraft die after the plan crashes due to a ``technical failure''.

Apr. 4:

The Obuchi Cabinet in Japan quits.

A U.S. court rules that Microsoft has violated anti-trust laws by illegally protecting its Windows monopoly.

Apr. 5:

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party elects Mr. Yoshiro Mori as the Prime Minister.

Apr. 6:

A special anti-terrorism court in Karachi convicts and sentences the deposed Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif to a 15-year life term on charges of hijacking and terrorism.

Apr. 6:

The Zimbabwean Parliament amends Constitution giving the Government the right to seize white-owned farms without compensation.

Apr. 9:

Iran frees 500 Iraqi prisoners of war as a unilateral gesture to improve strained ties following the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

The Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Costas Simitis (64) wins mandate for a second five-year term.

Apr. 12:

``Hegemonism cannot monopolise international affairs in the post-cold war era'', says the Chinese President, Mr. Jiang Zemin in Israel on a historic tour, being the first ever by the Head of State of the Communist nation.

``Another Nuremberg is required to put on trial the economic order imposed on the third world'', says the Cuban President Mr. Fidel Castro at the G-77 summit.

Apr. 13:

The Indonesian Government slaps a ban on foreign travel by the former President, Gen. Suharto and places him under ``arrest'' within the confines of Jakarta.

Apr. 14:

The Russian Parliament ratifies the Start-II nuclear arms reduction treaty.

Apr. 15:

The U.S. Justice Department asks the Federal Appeals court in Atlanta to order the relatives holding the Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez to turn the boy over to his father, now in the U.S., waiting for the reunion.

Fifty persons die after blasts rock the airport of the Congo capital Kinshasa.

Zimbabwean squatters kill a White farmer, Mr. David Stevens after abducting him from home.

Apr. 18:

Squatters kill another White farmer, Mr. Martin Olbs (42), in his farm at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city.

Apr. 19:

The Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Massimo D'Alima resigns.

A Philippines airliner packed with Easter holidaymakers crashes on a resort island near the southern city of Davao leaving 131 dead.

Apr. 21:

The Russian Parliament overwhelmingly ratifies the Comprehensive Test Bank Treaty.

Apr. 22:

The Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez and his father, Mr. Juan Miguel Gonzalez reunite after four and a half months after Federal officials free the boy in a pre-dawn raid in Miami's Little Havana neighbourhood.

Apr. 23:

Maj. Gen. Paul Kagame takes office as the sixth President of Rwanda.

Philippine rebels kidnap 21 persons at the holiday resort of Sipadan island, off Malaysia's Sabah coast.

Apr. 25:

China cracks down on Falun Gong, detains 100 protestors for trying to stage a sit-down in Tiananmen Square.

Apr. 26:

The 58th Government since WWII takes office in Italy under the Prime Minister, Mr. Giuliano Amato.

Apr. 27:

The talks in London between Britain and Zimbabwe to resolve the crisis caused by land takeover by the war veterans fail.

Apr. 28:

The U.N. withdraws its staff from the Jaffna peninsula following the fall of Elephant Pass and further advances by the LTTE.

Apr. 29:

Malaysia's court of appeal upholds the conviction of the former Deputy PM, Mr. Anwar Ibrahim and the six-year prison sentence.

May 1:

The Austrian far-right politician, Mr. Jorg Haider quits as chairman of the Freedom Party.May 2:

Israel begins pullout from southern Lebanon in preparation for its planned complete withdrawal from the zone by July 7.

May 2:

Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone take as hostages 300 U.N. peacekeeping forces.

May 4:

The British Government announces an embargo on arms sale to Zimbabwe.

An e-mail virus ``I love you'', causes widespread disruption to computer systems across the world.

May 5:

The Turkish Parliament elects the constitutional court Chief Justice, Mr. Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the 10th President of Turkey in a secret vote.

May 5:

The British and Irish Governments announce a breakthrough in their efforts to resolve the crisis over the Northern Ireland peace agreement and set June 2001 as the deadline for the IRA and other paramilitaries to disarm.

May 7:

Mr. Vladimir Putin vows to unite the nation, uphold, democracy and build a free, rich and strong Russia after being sworn in President.

May 9:

The officials of a Philippine Computer College identify Onel De Guzman, a student as the prime suspect in the love bug virus incident.

May 10:

The Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin formally names Mr. Mikhail Kasyanov as his choice for the next Prime Minister.

May 11:

Chechen rebels ambush a Russian Army convoy and shoot to death 18 federal troops near the villages of Alkhast and Galashki, Ingushetia, some 6 km from the border of Chechnya.

May 12:

Whites and Zimbabwean war veterans reach an agreement on setting up a Land Commission to oversee land transfer.

The Pakistan Supreme Court ``validates'' the military coup of October 12, 1999, while setting a three-year timeframe for the handover of power to an elected Government by October 12, 2002.

May 14:

The Government in Addis Ababa rejects a U.N Security Council ultimatum that Eritrea and Ethiopia should cease fighting.

May 15:

Sierra Leonean rebels free 139 of their captives into Liberian custody.

The Israeli Cabinet approves the transfer of two Palestinian villages (Abu Dis and Eizariyeh) near Jerusalem to full Palestinian control.

May 16:

The former Chief of the Indonesian military forces (TNI), Gen. Wiranto resigns from the Abdurrahman Wahid Cabinet.

May 17:

British troops capture Foday Sankoh, leader of the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone, in Freetown.

The Russian Parliament overwhelmingly approves the appointment of Mr. Mikhail Kasyanov.

The U.S. First Lady, Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton official nominee of the Democratic Party to run in November for a U.S. Senate seat from New York State.

May 18:

The U.N. Security Council votes unanimously to impose an arms embargo on Ethiopia and Eritrea.

May 19:

China and the E.U. reach a market access deal that removes the last major hurdle to China's entry to the WTO.

The South Korean Prime Minister, Mr. Park Tae-Joon quits.

Paraguay's Government declares a 30-day state of emergency after soldiers loyal to the former coup plotter Lino Oviedo, take over a barracks and fire shots around the Congress building from armoured vehicles.

A `civil coup' in Fiji ousts the first ethnic Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Mahendra Pal Choudhary and the President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara proclaims a state of emergency.

May 20:

Mr. Chen Shui-bian sworn in Taiwan President.

May 22:

The South Korean President, Mr. Kim Dae-Jung appoints Mr. Lee Han-dong as the Prime Minister.

May 23:

Israel begins pullout from the occupied zone in Southern Lebanon five weeks ahead of the July 7 deadline.

May 25:

The U.S. House of Representatives votes convincingly to give China the Permanent Normal Trading Relations status.

Croatia joins NATO's extended family, becoming the 26th nation to join the alliance's partnership for peace cooperation programme.

A fresh outbreak of violence in Indonesia's North Maluku Islands leaves 32 Christians dead.

May 26:

Israel gets temporary membership in one of the U.N. regional groups, opening the way for its eventual election to key U.N. bodies, after being shut out for the past 40 years.

The Iranian leader, Mr. Ali Akbar Hashem Rafsanjani quits from the new Parliament.

May 27:

Colombia's worst serial killer, Louis Alfredo Garavito gets 835 years in prison for the murder of 189 boys aged between 8 and 16.

The Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin signs the global nuclear test ban treaty.

The Fiji President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara dismisses the Prime Minister, Mr. Mahendra Pal Chaudhury.

May 29:

The Chief of Fiji's military force, commodore Frank Bainimarama proclaims martial law and assumes executive powers. The President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara resigns.

May 30:

Ethiopia and Eritrea begin indirect talks in Algeria in a bid to end their two-year border war.

Jun. 2:

The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Yoshiro Mori dissolves Parliament.

The Russian Orthodox Church grants sainthood for Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

Jun. 3:

Fiji's `civil coup' leader, Mr. George Speight goes back on offer to release hostages and issues a nine-point ultimatum.

Jun. 4:

Irian Jaya declares independence from Indonesia.

Jun. 5:

Rebel gunmen take hostage the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Mr. Bartholomew Ulufa'Alu and the Governor-General, Father John Lapli in a coup in the capital Honiara.

The Commonwealth Foreign Ministers suspend Fiji from the grouping's decision-making councils, but decide against economic sanction.

Jun. 7:

The Sri Lankan Industries Development Minister, Mr. C.V. Gooneratne (64) and 21 others, including the Deputy Mayor of Ratmalana, 15 km south of Colombo, die in a blast triggered by an LTTE suicide bomber on War Heroes Day.

One hundred people die in an attack by militiamen near the Solomon Islands capital Honiara. The Prime Minister, Mr. Bartholomew Ulufa'Alu freed after being held hostage for two days.

A U.S. Federal Judge, Mr. Thomas Penfield Jackson, orders that software giant, Microsoft corporation be split.

Jun. 8:

The Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin imposes direct Kremlin rule in Chechnya.

Jun. 9:

The revolutionary United Front militiamen disarm 21 Indian peacekeeping soldiers in Sierra Leone and take them hostage.

Jun. 10:

The Serbian Education Minister, Mr. Milivoje Simonovic (49), dies in a crash on the Belgrade-Nis motorway 90 km south of the capital.

Jun. 13:

Fiji's deposed Prime Minister, Mr. Mahendra Pal Chaudhry and 17 other hostages taste freedom after 55 days in captivity. The Great Council of Chiefs appoints a Speight supporter, Ratu Josefa Iloila as the new President.

Jun. 14:

Italy grants clemency to Mehmet Ali Agca, who tried to kill Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981.

Jun. 18:

The Jordanian monarch appoints a liberal leaning politician, Mr. Ali Abu-al-Ragheb Prime Minister.

Ethiopia, Eritrea sign peace deal brokered by the Organisation of African Unity to end their two-year border war.

Jun. 19:

Over 116 people killed in Muslim-Christian clashes in eastern Indonesia.

The European Union leaders approve Greece's membership of the Euro from January 1, 2001, making it the 12th country to join the single currency launched in 1999.

Jun. 20:

The U.S. eases sanctions on North Korea close on the heels of the historic summit between the leaders of South and North Korea.

Jun. 22:

Barak Government in Israel survives as the Jewish Shas Party announces withdrawal of the resignation of its four Cabinet Ministers.

Thaw in Sino-U.S. ties as the U.S. Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine Albright holds talks with the Chinese President, Mr. Jiang Zemin, the Premier, Mr. Zhu Rongji, the Vice-Premier, Mr. Qian Qichen and the Foreign Minister, Mr. Tang Jiaxuan.

The Iranian President, Mr. Mohammad Khatami and his Egyptian counterpart, Mr. Hosni Mubarak establish telephonic contact, the first since the leaders of the two countries broke off relations in 1980.

Jun. 27:

The Syrian Parliament unanimously approves the nomination of Dr. Bashar al-Assad to succeed his late father Hafez al-Assad, as the country's President.

Jun. 28:

The Norwegian envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim meets representatives of Sri Lankan Tamil parties.

South Korea's National Assembly approves Mr. Lee Han-dong as Prime Minister after a close vote among party lines.

Jun. 29:

The Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez returns o Cuba after more than seven months in the United States.

A ship with 500 people, many fleeing sectarian violence in the Maluku islands sinks in remote waters in eastern Indonesia.

Jun. 30:

South and North Korea sign accord to reunite relatives separated by the division of the Peninsula more than half a century ago.

Jul. 2:

Mongolia's former communist rulers win landslide victory in parliamentary elections.

Jul. 3:

Thirtyone Russian special policemen die as a suicide bomber rams an explosives-laden truck into an Interior Ministry building in Argun near the Chechen Capital Grozny.

The candidate of the Opposition National Action Party, Mr. Vicente Fox wins the presidential elections in Mexico.

Jul. 9:

The Fiji coup leader, Mr. George Speight, and military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama sign an agreement to end the seven-week hostage crisis.

Jul. 10:

The Israeli President, Mr. Ezer Weizman (75) resigns after becoming embroiled in a financial scandal.

Dr. Bashar Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad gets elected President of Syria with 97.29 per cent of the national vote.

Seventyeight persons die after a garbage mountain crashes down on a Manila shanty town called Promised Land.

The first AIDS vaccine designed for Africa cleared for testing on humans.

Over 200 people, many of them children die in an explosion caused by a broken petroleum pipeline fire near the villages of Adeje and Oviri-Court in southern Nigeria.

Jul. 12:

Camp David negotiations for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement opens, and the U.S. describes it as a `working summit.'

Jul. 14:

The U.S. and Vietnam sign a landmark trade accord.

Jul. 17:

Muslim rebels kill 21 Christians, including a pregnant woman in a mosque in the southern Philippines town of Bumbaran on Mindanao island.

Jul. 21:

The G-7 summit in Okinawa, Japan endorses reports on ways to root out abuses of the global financial system.

Jul. 22:

A special court sentences the former Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif to life imprisonment of 14 years and bars him from holding any public office for 21 years.

Jul. 23:

The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton announces $ 300 millions in aid to provide free school lunches in developing countries, as G-8 leaders wrap up their summit at Okinawa.

Jul. 24:

Ivory Coast vote overwhelmingly for new Constitution in a referendum described as `very honourable.'

Jul. 25:

One hundred and thirteen persons, die after an Air France Concorde jet crashes into a hotel in a suburb close to the Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris.

The 15-day Camp David talks between Israel and Palestine collapse over the status of Jerusalem.

Jul. 26:

Mongolian lawmakers choose a Russian educated reformer and translator of Western Writers, Mr. Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Prime Minister.

Jul. 28:

A new interim Government, sans Speight supporters, headed by Mr. Laisenia Qarase takes office in Fiji.

Jul. 31:

The Knesset elects the right-wing candidate, Mr. Moshe Katzav (54), Israel's President, defeating the Nobel Peace laureate, Mr. Shimon Peres.

Venezuelans reelect Mr. Hugo Chavez as President for another term.

Aug. 2:

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. David Levy quits, delivering a new blow to the Barak Government.

Aug. 3:

The Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga introduces the historic but controversial Constitution Bill in Parliament.

The former Indonesian President. Gen. Suharto formally charged with corruption by the Attorney General's office in Jakarta.

Aug.4:

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, the last member of the British royal family to bear the title ``Empress of India,'' celebrates her 100th birthday.

Aug. 7:

Over 200 people die in landslips in Bhutan's Pashakha village, following incessant rain since August 3.

Aug. 8:

A High Court in Kuala Lumpur sentences the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Anwar Ibrahim (52) to a 9 year jail term on charges of sodomy.

The Chilean Supreme Court issues ruling to divest General Augusto Pinochet of his senatorial immunity.

Aug. 9:

Lebanese security forces move into the former Israeli occupied zone in southern Lebanon in a first show of state authority here in 24 years.

Aug. 10:

Sri Lanka's octogenarian Prime Minister, Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike resigns from office owing to old age and ill health.

Aug. 12:

A Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sinks in the Barents Sea after an explosion with all 118 crew members on board.

A Hungarian Mr. Andras Tamas (75), ``the last prisoner of World War II'' returns to homeland after five decades in a Russian mental hospital.

Aug. 14:

The Russian Orthodox Church canonises the last Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family at a special millennium council.

Aug. 15:

One hundred elderly North Koreans reunite with their Southern relatives whom they had not seen for half a century in the South Korean capital Seoul.

Aug. 16:

The British Airways and Air France indefinitely ground all the 13 Concorde planes.

Aug. 17:

The Democratic Party officially nominates Mr. Albert Gore as its Presidential candidate in the U.S. elections. Mr. Joseph Lieberman accepts nomination as the running mate.

Aug. 18:

The Sri Lankan Government announces dissolution of Parliament.

Aug. 23:

A top Indonesian judge orders the former President, Gen. Suharto (79) to stand trial on corruption charges.

One hundred and fifty people die after a Gulf Air airliner on a scheduled flight to Manama from Cairo crashes into the sea near the Bahrain.

Aug. 24:

The former Bangladesh President, Gen. H. M. Ershad gets five years simple imprisonment and a fine of 5.5 crore takas after a High Court finds him guilty of corruption.

Aug. 26:

The Indonesian Vice-President, Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri swears in a new 26-member Cabinet.

Aug. 27:

The extremist Abbu Sayyaf group frees five Western hostages, including four women after several months in captivity in Jolo Island.

The Algerian Government under the Prime Minister, Mr. Ahmed Benbitour quits and the President, Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika asks Mr. Ali Benflis to form a new Cabinet.

Aug. 28:

The French Defence Minister, Mr. Jean Pierre Chevenement quits over the Government's plans to give limited autonomy to the Mediterranean island of Corsica.

Sep. 1:

The leaders of the 12 South American nations sign the `Brazil Communique' calling for the full physical integration of the continent by 2010 into a ``community of nations.''

Sep. 2:

Myanmar military authorities raid the headquarters of the National League for Democracy of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.

Intense fighting between the Government troops and the LTTE leaves 300 combatants from both sides dead.

Sep. 3:

Twelve army officers implicated in the assassination of the former Bangladesh President, Ziaur Rahman were hanged under a ``pre- designated plan'' a parliamentary probe (which took 19 years to complete its investigation) has revealed.

Sep. 6:

``Change cannot be held back by frontiers,'' says the U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan in his opening address at the United Nations Millennium Summit.

Sep. 8:

About 100 people die in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Ugyur region to the West of China in a ``catastrophic explosion,'' when a vehicle carrying explosives planned to be destroyed suddenly blows up.

Japan arrests a senior naval officer, Mr. Shigehiro Hagisaki (38) in the nation's biggest spy scandal in 20 years, on suspicion of passing military secrets to a Russian embassy employee.

Sep. 10:

Sri Lankan security forces kill 75 LTTE militants at Colombuthurai and recaptures some area.

Sep. 11:

The European Union lifts sanctions on Austria.

Sep. 13:

Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the Democratic Party's official nomination to be a Senator from New York, becoming the first U.S. First Lady to be a candidate in a national election.

Sep. 14:

The Indonesian President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid orders the arrest of Mr. Hutomo Mandala Putra (aka Tommy) son of the former dictator, Gen. Suharto in connection with a bomb attack.

Sep. 15:

Ignacio Gracia Arregui (45) head of the Basque separatist organisation ETA and his wife held at Bidart, near Bayonne in the French Basque country.

Sep. 16:

The Philippines launches a massive military operation against the Abu Sayyaf group on the southern island of Jolo.

Mr. M.H.M. Ashraff, a senior Sri Lankan Minister and 14 others die after the Mi-17 helicopter carrying them crashes in the mountain jungles in the east of the country.

Sep. 17:

The Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister, Mr. Leonid Boroditch dies in Kiev when a plane he was flying crashes as he carries out a stunt at a local air show.

Sep. 18:

South Korea begins work on a railway link with North Korea at the demilitarised zone in Paju.

Sep. 19:

Fifteen persons die and 100 sustain injuries in a bomb explosion in a crowded fruit and vegetable market in Islamabad.

Sep. 20:

The headquarters of MI6, the British foreign intelligence agency hit by a missile.

The U.S. Senate votes decisively in favour of the China Trade Bill granting permanent normal trade relations.

Sep. 25:

The Defence Ministers and South and North Korea, Mr. Cho Sung-Tae and Mr. Kim Il Chul meeting for the first time ever, pledge to work toward reconciliation.

French voters approve a referendum on shortening the presidential term to five years.

Sep. 26:

The British authorities file criminal charges against the best selling novelist, Mr. Jeffrey Archer for allegedly asking a friend to lie for him in a libel trial 13 years ago.

The Yugoslav President, Mr. Slobodan Milosevic announces a run- off election against the Opposition leader, Mr. Vojislav Kostounica, who insists he has won the election outright.

At least 59 people die as a Greek ferry Express Samina sinks after hitting a patch of rocks in the Aegean Sea.

Sep. 27:

The Indonesian Supreme Court sentences Mr. Tommy Suharto, youngest son of the former President, Gen.Suharto to an 18 month jail term on corruption charges.

As many as 161 miners die after a gas explosion in a coalmine in southern China.

Sep. 28:

Eighty LTTE rebels and 33 Sri Lankan troops die as fresh battles break out over the control of a number of areas in the northern Jaffna peninsula.

A Jakarta court in a surprise verdict dismisses the corruption case against the former President, Gen.Suharto and frees him from his city arrest.

Denmark rejects the euro, voting not to join 11 other Western European states in the common currency.

Oct. 1:

Pope John Paul II declares 87 Chinese and 33 foreign missionaries saints. Most of the 120 martyrs died in the anti- Western, anti-Christian Boxer rebellion 100 years ago.

Oct. 2:

The Pakistan military Government decides to make public the report of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission.

Oct. 3:

In a surprise admission of guilt, Mr. Tommy Suharto, youngest son of Gen. Suyarto seeks presidential pardon to annul the 18 month jail sentence on corruption charges.

The Taiwanese Prime Minister, Mr. Tang Fei quits post in protest against plans to complete a new nuclear plant.

Oct. 6:

The Yogoslav President, Mr. Slobodan Milosevic concedes defeat, quits.

Oct. 7:

Mr. Vojislav Kostounica takes office as Yugoslavia's first popularly elected President.

Oct. 10:

Russia and four former Soviet States (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Tajikistan) forge the Eurasian Economic Community to counter the growing threat of Islamic fundamentalism in Central Asia.

Oct. 11:

The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, signs into law a Bill that grants permanent normal trade relations to the People's Republic of China.

A provincial Governor, Mr. Luis Singson accuses the Philippines President, Mr. Joseph Estrada of pocketing $ 8.6 million in kickbacks from underground gambling dons.

Oct. 12:

The Philippines Vice-President, Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, quits as the social welfare secretary in the Joseph Estrada Cabinet.

A bomb attack on a U.S. guided missile destroyer, USS Cole at the port of Aden, Yemen leaves 17 sailors dead.

Oct. 13:

The People's Alliance forms a new Government in Sri Lanka with Mr. Ratnasiri Wickramanayake taking office as the Prime Minister.

Oct. 14:

The Bosnian Muslim leader, Mr. Alija Izetbegovic (75), steps down from the country's tripartite presidency two years before his mandate was to expire.

Oct. 15:

The emergency summit meeting to deal with the West Asia crisis gets under way in the Egypt resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Oct. 18:

Opposition legislators bring before the House of Representatives an impeachment motion against the Philippines President, Mr. Joseph Estrada.

Oct.19:

The third Asia Europe Meeting adopts a five-point declaration in support of inter-Korean dialogue.

In a major diplomatic blow to Israel, the U.N. General Assembly terms as ``illegal and obstacle to peace'' Israeli settlement in the Palestinian territory.

Oct. 22:

The Inter-Parliamentary Union suspends Fiji's membership.

Oct. 23:

The U.S. Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine Albright meets the North Korean President, Mr. Kim Jong Il, thus becoming the first U.S. Cabinet official ever to do so.

The Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. John Chretien, just three and a half years into his second term, calls for parliamentary polls.

Mr. Rafik Hariri becomes Lebanon Prime Minister again after a landslide victory in parliamentary voting in August.

Oct. 24:

The Peruvian Vice-President, Mr. Francisco Tudela resigns to protest the amnesty push by the former spy chief, Mr. Vladimiro Montesinos.

Sir Edward Heath, the man who led Britain into Europe in 1974 and had been a member of the House of Commons for 50 years calls it a day.

Oct. 25:

Seventyfive persons die after a Russian military jet crashes into a mountain in Georgia.

Serbian Parliament dissolved.

Oct. 30:

A special appellate bench of the Sindh High Court rejects a petition filed by the military government seeking death sentence to the former Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif.

The Kyrgyz President, Mr. Askar Akgyev gets re-elected in a landslide victory.

Oct. 31:

The first permanent mission for the International Space Station blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz rocket.

Seventy of the 159 passengers on board a Los Angeles bound Singapore airlines flight die after the plane crashes on the runway during the takeoff run at Taipei's international airport.

Nov. 1:

Ending eight years of isolation, Yugoslavia, a founding member, gains admission into the United Nations.

Nov. 2:

The Indonesian President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid formally rejects a pardon plea by Mr. Tommy Suharto.

The first long-term mission to the International Space station docks with the platform.

Nov. 4:

Over 200 die in south-west Nigeria when a petrol tanker loses control and rams vehicles before bursting into flames.

Nov. 6:

Philippine legislators begin debate on an impeachment motion against the President, Mr. Joseph Estrada.

Nov. 7:

A TULF MP, Mr. Nimalan Soundaranayagam (50), dies after unidentified gunmen open fire on him while travelling on his motorcycle near Kiran, 28 km north of Batticaloa town in eastern Sri Lanka.

Nov. 8:

In Missouri, U.S., a `dead man', former Governor Mel Carnahan wins the Senate race, beating the first term Republican, Mr. John Ashcroft.

Voters put the brakes on an eight year drive to make Puerto Rico, the 51st U.S. State.

Mrs.Hillary Rodham Clinton makes wins Senate election from New York.

Ms.Margaret Atwood (68) wins the Booker Prize.

Nov. 10:

The Zimbabwean Supreme Court rules the Government's land reform plan and the occupation of white-owned farms illegal.

The Mekong-Ganga cooperation gets off the ground.

Nov. 11:

About 170 people die after a train transporting skiers to a glacier resort in Austria catches fire.

Nov. 12:

The Zimbabwean Government defies Supreme Court order and seizes 50 more farms, bringing the total to more than 300.

Nov. 13:

The Philippines House of Representatives impeaches the President, Mr. Joseph Estrada and has to face a trial by the Senate.

Nov. 14:

Russia and Belarus agree to make the rouble the currency of their planned Union State in five years.

Nov. 15:

Fiji's High Court orders reinstatement of the Mahendra Pal Chaudhury Government.

Russia decides to ditch 14-year-old Mir Space station in February next.

Nov. 17:

``Let the days when we talk past each other be gone for good. Let us acknowledge our importance to one another, '' says the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton on his visit to Vietnam, the fist-ever by an American Head of State.

The Philippines Senate begins formal trial against the President, Mr. Joseph Estrada.

The European Union Army takes a definite shape with the 15 Defence Ministers of the member-States pledging manpower and weapons for a new rapid reaction corps comprising some one lakh troops.

Nov. 21:

The Opposition-led Peruvian Congress sacks the President, Mr. Alberto Fujimori. Mr. Valentin Paniagua becomes Peru's interim President and names the former U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar as the Prime Minister.

Nov. 23:

Russia revokes its 1995 pledge not to sell weapons to Iran.

Nov. 24:

The supporters of the Zimbabwean President, Mr. Robert Mugabe block a Supreme Court hearing over an order to evict squatters from White-owned farms.

The former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet makes a hesitant admission of responsibility for atrocities the army committed during his 17-year rule.

Nov. 25:

The U.N. climate talks in The Hague collapse at the eleventh hour after the E.U. and the U.S. fail to settle a bitter row over ways to stop global warming.

Mad cow crisis spreads to Germany.

Nov. 26:

The Netherlands legalises euthanasia.

Nov. 27:

Yugoslavia gains admission to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. Jean Chretien wins a third consecutive majority government since WorldWar II.

The world's largest highway tunnel running to 24.5 km opens to traffic at Laerdal, 300 km northwest of the Norwegian capital Oslo. The Laerdal tunnel surpasses the 16.9 km St. Gothard Tunnel in the Swiss Alps.

Nov. 30:

The Endeavour space shuttle lifts off with solar wings, for ISS which will provide the power necessary to open up the entire station.

Dec. 1:

The Commonwealth of Independent States, barring Turkmenistan form an anti-terrorist centre to fight religious extremism and separation, chiefly in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Mr. Vicente Fox takes office as Mexico's President.

Dec. 5:

The European Union orders a six-month ban on all animal feed products made from the meat and bone of cattle.

Dec. 6:

A Moscow Court slaps 20 years' imprisonment on U.S. businessman, Mr. Edmond Pope found guilty of espionage for illegally obtaining classified blueprints for a high-speed torpedo.

Dec. 7:

Massive protests mar European Union summit in the French resort town of Nice.

The impeachment trial of the Philippines President, Mr. Joseph Estrado begins in the 22-member Senate.

The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton presents America's highest civilian honour, the Presidential medal of freedom to the Myanmarese Nobel laureate, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dec. 8:

The Russian Parliament nod for reinstating the old Soviet Anthem and the tricolour flag and the double-headed eagle dating from the tsarist times.

Dec. 10:

The Pakistan Government pardons and exiles the former Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif along with 17 of his close family members to Saudi Arabia.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak resigns and says February 6 polls a referendum on peace talks.

The South Korean President, Mr. Kim Dae-Jung receives Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr. Ion Iliescu wins a landslide victory for a third term as Romania's President.

Dec. 11:

The E.U. leaders reach accord on structural reforms as the Nice Summit concludes.

Dec. 12:

Space shuttle Endeavour back right on time after the tryst with the International Space Station.

Dec. 13:

Scientists crack plant gene code, an achievement that could throw open the gates to a new ``green revolution'' of supercrops.

Dec. 14:

The U.S. Vice-President, Mr. Al Gore concedes defeat in the Presidential election. Mr. George Bush to assume office on January 20, 2001.

A two-Judge High Court Division Bench of the Bangladesh Supreme Court in a split verdict in the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination case acquits five of the 15 accused military officers sentenced to death by a trial court in 1998.

Russia pardons and frees U.S. businessman, Mr. Edmond Pope jailed on espionage charges.

Dec. 15:

Ukraine shuts down the infamous Chermobyl nuclear power station, site of the world's worst nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986.

Dec. 15:

Rival Protestant paramilitary groups in northern Ireland agree to cease fire.

The Cape High Court rules out amnesty for lifers Clive Derby- Lewis and Janusz Walubs in the April 1993 killing of the ANC leader, Chris Hani.

Dec. 16:

The U.S. President-elect, Mr. George Bush nominates Gen. Colin Powell the new Secretary of State.

Dec. 17:

Mr. Mirko Sarvic, leader of the Nationalist Serb Democratic Party, new Bosnian Serb President.

Ms. Condoleezza Rice, new U.S. National Security Adviser and the first woman to hold the post.

Dec. 18:

The U.S. electoral college confirms the election of Mr. George W. Bush as President.

Dec. 19:

The U.N. Security Council by a 13 to 2 vote imposes harsh new sanctions on the Taliban Government of Afghanistan.

British Parliament nod for research on human embryos.Dec. 21:

The LTTE declares a month-long unilateral ceasefire from December 24 to January 24, 2001.

Dec. 22:

Seventysix persons, including army personnel and LTTE militants die as Colombo launches a two-pronged attack over land and the Jaffna lagoon.

The West agrees to forgive loans to 22 of the world's poorest countries, all in Africa and Latin America.

Dec. 24:

The Yugoslav President's Mr.Vojislav Kostonaica's supporters win more than a two-thirds majority in Serbian Parliamentary polls.

Dec. 25:

At least 309 Christmas revellers die in a blaze at a shopping centre in Luoyang city, Henan province of China.

Dec. 27:

Russia resurrects Soviet anthem with new lyric.

Events 2000