1998
| 
| 
1 January 1998 Twelve charges of corruption are brought against former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, her husband, and mother.
Mohammad Rafiqu Tarar replaces Wasim Sajjad as President of Pakistan.
Hutu rebels kill about 150 civilians in an attack on a village and military camp near Bujumbura, Burundi. Fighting ensues between the rebels and the Burundi army. 300 people are killed in that fighting.
6 January 1998 The UN calls for $378,000,000 of food aid for North Korea.
8 January 1998 Michael Kemp Tippett dies of pneumonia at his West London home, aged 93 years and six days.
A federal judge in New York sentences Ramzi Ahmed Yousef to life in prison for his part in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993.
The American Astronomical Society hears evidence from several scientists that the age of the universe is 15,000,000,000 years, much older than previously thought, and that it will continue to expand indefinitely.
11 January 1998 Klaus Tennstedt dies at his home in Kiel at the age of 71.
12 January 1998 Hutu rebels kill nine Roman Catholic nuns in Rwerere, Rwanda, a village near the Congo border.
The British and Irish governments produce a “blueprint” for peace in Northern Ireland.
The German government and the Jewish Claims Conference agree that Germany will provide a fund of DM200,000,000 to compensate Jews from eastern Europe persecuted during World War II.
13 January 1998 Iraq prevents a UN inspection team from doing its work for a second time in two months.
Will you answer if I call? for harpsichord and ten players by Roger Reynolds (63) is performed for the first time, in Järvenpää, Finland.
14 January 1998 The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty enters into force.
The UN Security Council unanimously condemns Iraq for refusing to accept weapons inspectors.
15 January 1998 President Suharto of Indonesia signs an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to implement broad reforms in an effort to put the country’s economy on a surer footing.
The United Nations returns Eastern Slavonia to Croatia. It was held as part of the 1995 peace and is the last bit of Croatia to be repatriated.
The Argentine Navy arrests former Captain Alfredo Astiz after an interview with him is published wherein he boasts about his actions as a member of a death squad killing leftists during the “dirty war” of the 1970s and 1980s. President Menem will expel him from the navy but he can not be prosecuted because of a 1987 amnesty law.
Police in Beech Island, South Carolina detain popular music entertainer James Brown. They seize a rifle and a handgun from his home. Brown will be admitted to a hospital for treatment of an addiction to painkillers.
16 January 1998 The Constitutional Court of Turkey rules that the Refah (Welfare) Party violates the secularism provisions of the constitution and is therefore banned. It is the largest party in the Parliament.
UN weapons inspectors leave Baghdad, unable to do their work.
The German constitution is amended to allow for police eavesdropping of homes and businesses.
Eight tobacco companies agree to pay $15,300,000,000 to the State of Texas as reimbursement for money spent by the state treating the effects of smoking.
On the Balance of Things for oboe, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, trumpet, percussion, violin, cello, and electronic sound generators by Roger Reynolds (63) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
17 January 1998 US President Bill Clinton is deposed for six hours in the sexual harassment case of Paul Jones, in his lawyer’s office in Washington.
20 January 1998 Hutu rebels attack a bus outside of Gisenyi, Rwanda, killing 34 people and injuring 25.
President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic is elected by Parliament to a second five-year term.
Mundus Canis for guitar and percussion by George Crumb (68) is performed for the first time, in Cannes. The composer plays the percussion part.
21 January 1998 Iraq freezes all UN weapons inspections.
Pope John Paul II lands in Cuba for a five-day visit, during which he criticizes Fidel Castro for suppression of religious freedom.
Stories begin entering the press that, contrary to sworn testimony of both of them, US President Clinton and intern Monica Lewinsky had sexual relations and that he told her to lie about it under oath. President Clinton publicly denies both allegations.
22 January 1998 The Roman Catholic Church opens the records of the Holy Inquisition (except the 20th century) for scholars to view for the first time.
Theodore Kaczinski, the alleged Unabomber, agrees to a plea bargain and pleads guilty to several bombings, in a federal court in Sacramento.
Microsoft Corp. and the US government reach a partial settlement in an anti-trust suit when Microsoft agrees to bring its operating system under an court order of December 1997.
Evidence of Things Not Seen, a song cycle for four voices and piano by Ned Rorem (74) to words of various authors, is performed for the first time, in Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, New York. It was commissioned by the New York Festival of Song and the Library of Congress.
23 January 1998 Speaking in Camaguey, Cuba, Pope John Paul II criticizes the US embargo of Cuba and urges Cubans not to fall into the abyss of capitalism. He says it enriches the few at the expense of the many.
Mir Aimal Kasi is sentenced to death in Fairfax, Virginia for two murders outside the Central Intelligence Agency in 1993.
24 January 1998 Riots begin in East Java over food prices.
...and beyond, a cantata for chorus and chamber orchestra by Jonathan Lloyd (49) to Hindu texts, is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
26 January 1998 A comprehensive ban on the possession of handguns goes into effect in Great Britain.
Compaq Computer Corp., the largest maker of personal computers, announces it will buy Digital Equipment Corp. for $9,600,000,000. The new company will be the second largest in the computer industry behind IBM.
In Washington, President Clinton issues a strong denial of charges that he had a sexual affair with an intern and counseled her to lie about it.
28 January 1998 In a court in Poonamallee, Tamil Nadu, 26 people are sentenced to death for their part in the 1991 murder of Rajiv Gandhi and 16 others.
The Turkish government releases a report connecting it to death squads responsible for several murders, mostly of Kurds.
Volkswagen is fined 102,000,000 ECUs by the European Commission for pressuring Italian dealers to not sell Volkswagens to people outside Italy.
29 January 1998 Pro-Life advocate Eric Rudolph explodes a bomb outside a clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. An off-duty policeman is killed. Another person, a nurse, loses her left eye and is seriously wounded in the face, leg, and abdomen.
1 February 1998 Gilded Goldbergs op.86 for two pianos by Robin Holloway (54) is performed for the first time, privately at Cambridge. See 26 June 1999.
2 February 1998 Riots begin spreading throughout Indonesia.
For the first time in 30 years a US president presents a budget to Congress that includes a surplus.
3 February 1998 A joy-riding US Marine pilot flies his jet under the cable of a ski lift near Cavalese, Italy, snapping the cable and causing a gondola to fall 90 meters to the ground. All 20 people aboard the gondola are killed.
4 February 1998 An earthquake and subsequent aftershocks kill about 4,750 people in northeastern Afghanistan, centered near Rostaq.
5 February 1998 The United States announces that it will send 200,000 tons of food to North Korea in response to a UN appeal.
Astra USA Inc., which is a subsidiary of the Swedish firm Astra AB, agrees to pay a record $9,900,000 in a sexual harassment complaint brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Variazioni sopra una Soggeto Cavato for clarinet by Donald Martino (66) is performed for the first time, in the Tsai Center, Boston by the composer.
Exody ‘23:59:59’ for orchestra by Harrison Birtwistle (63) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Center, Chicago.
6 February 1998 Claude Erignac, the prefect of Corsica, is shot to death on the street in Ajaccio by Yvan Colonna, a Corsican separatist.
Barnes & Noble, Inc., a bookstore chain, is indicted by an Alabama grand jury on 32 counts of distributing child pornography. They sell two photography books which include pictures of nude children.
7 February 1998 The 18th Winter Olympic Games open in Nagano, Japan.
8 February 1998 Days and Nights of Rochina for orchestra by Philip Glass (61) is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
9 February 1998 Over 20 gunmen open fire on the motorcade of President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia. Two bodyguards and one attacker are killed. Four people are injured. Shevardnadze escapes. The attackers are apparently followers of former president Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
Sonnengesang for cello, chamber chorus, and percussion by Sofia Gubaidulina (66) to words of St. Francis of Assisi is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
12 February 1998 Sonata Appassionata for cello and piano by Ralph Shapey (76) is performed for the first time, in Miller Theatre at Columbia University.
13 February 1998 Delegates to a constitutional convention in Canberra vote 89-52 to separate Australia from the British crown and replace it with an Australian head of state.
Sporadic price riots in Indonesia become more intense in western Java. Chinese and Christians are particular targets. Arson and looting are widespread.
Nigerian peacekeeping troops overthrow the military government of Sierra Leone. They began action against the junta when it did not follow an agreed to plan for transition to a civilian government.
14 February 1998 Cello Acrostic for cello by David Del Tredici (60) is performed for the first time, at the University of South Florida.
15 February 1998 Sketches for a symphony by Edward Elgar (†63) and elaborated by Payne are performed for the first time as Elgar’s Symphony no.3 in Royal Festival Hall, London, 65 years after they were made by the composer.
Equale for four trombones by Leslie Bassett (75) is performed for the first time, at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina.
18 February 1998 Phoenix Rising for orchestra by Thea Musgrave (69) is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
19 February 1998 Armed attackers invade a United Nations office in western Georgia. They take four UN truce observers and six civilians hostage, demanding the release of seven people in prison for the recent attack on Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze.
20 February 1998 Sinn Fein is suspended from the Northern Ireland peace process because they are suspected of involvement in two recent murders.
21 February 1998 The Jerusalem Post reports that King Hussein of Jordan sent a check for $1,000,000 to President Ezer Weizmann of Israel, asking him to distribute it among the families of the seven school children killed by a Jordanian soldier last March.
22 February 1998 The 18th Winter Olympic Games close in Nagano, Japan. In 16 days of competition, 2,176 athletes from 72 countries took part.
Iraq and the United Nations reach agreement that gives UN weapons inspectors full access to Iraqi weapons strikes. The deal was brokered by the personal intervention of Secretary General Kofi Annan.
A 1961 internal investigation by the CIA of the Bay of Pigs invasion lays the blame for the debacle squarely on the agency itself, citing arrogance and incompetence.
23 February 1998 Pursuant to the 16 January ruling of the Constitutional Court, government officials in Turkey begin dismantling the Welfare Party. 100 of the party’s MPs form a new group called the Virtue Party.
Elementa for computerized sounds by Jean-Claude Risset (59) is performed for the first time, at Radio-France, Paris.
24 February 1998 Colombian government agents arrest Victor Manuel Carranza Niño, a millionaire and owner of an emerald mine. He is charged with financing conservative death squads responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians suspected of having the wrong political opinions.
25 February 1998 Kim Dae Jung replaces Kim Young Sam as President of the Republic of Korea.
Georgian gunmen release their hostages taken 19 February and surrender to Georgian authorities. Three of them escape.
26 February 1998 Valdas Adamkus replaces Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas as President of Lithuania.
Sixth Symphony by William Bolcom (59) is performed for the first time.
27 February 1998 The British House of Lords agrees to allow a monarch’s first born child to inherit the throne, regardless of sex.
Colombian Human Rights campaigner Jesús María Valle Jaramillo is killed in his office in Medellin, presumably by conservative death squads. He recently linked the army to the death squads.
Soliloquy for violin, cello, and piano by Shulamit Ran (48) is performed for the first time, at Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst, Massachusetts.
28 February 1998 Albanian separatists attack Serbian police near Likosane, killing four of them. Serbian police retaliate by killing at least 24 Albanian civilians from that town. The police take civilians at random from their homes to torture, rape, and kill them.
2 March 1998 Serbian police attack a demonstration by thousands of Albanians in Pristina with clubs and tear gas.
Vladimir Meciar replaces Michal Kovác as acting President of Slovakia.
b Bop in 2 for alto saxophone and two recorders by TJ Anderson (69) is performed for the first time, in Krakow.
3 March 1998 Circles of Fire for two pianos by George Rochberg (79) is performed for the first time, at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
4 March 1998 The Last Discourse for amplified double bass, soprano, bass, and chorus by John Tavener (54) is performed for the first time, in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
5 March 1998 String Quartet no.14 by Peter Sculthorpe (68) is performed for the first time, in Novotel, Tasmania.
UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter returns to Baghdad.
Serbian police begin an offensive against Albanian separatists in Kosovo.
NASA announces that its unmanned space ship Lunar Prospector has detected ice on the Moon.
6 March 1998 Serbian special police attack villages in the Drenica valley populated by ethnic Albanians. They use mortars, helicopter gunships, and armored vehicles.
The US Army awards the Soldier’s Medal (the highest award for bravery not in battle) to Glenn Andreotta (posthumously), Lawrence Colburn, and Hugh Thompson. The three are credited with saving the lives of several Vietnamese civilians at the massacre at My Lai, Vietnam in 1968.
Lament for Constantinople for alto flute and baritone by John Tavener (54) to words of Nicetas Chorisatef (tr. Angelou and Davis) is performed for the first time, in the Hellenic Center, London.
Romance for violin and piano by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (58) is performed for the first time.
7 March 1998 National elections conclude in India giving no party a majority in Parliament. 38 parties win seats, with the BJP winning the most.
9 March 1998 Foreign Ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the UK, and the US, meeting in London, announce sanctions against Yugoslavia for their crackdown in Kosovo. Russia does not agree to all sanctions but will participate in an arms embargo.
Bosnian Serb paramilitary leader Dragoljub Kunarac, is found guilty of one count of crimes against humanity at the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. Kunarac admitted raping at least three Moslem women. It is the first time rape is considered a crime against humanity.
10 March 1998 Ahmad Tejan Kabbah is restored to the presidency of Sierra Leone by a West African peacekeeping force which overthrew the military government that had ousted him.
Former dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte resigns as head of the armed forces of Chile.
11 March 1998 Officials raid the Bank of Japan in Tokyo and arrest Yasuyuki Yoshizawa, the head of its capital markets division. Bank Governor Yasuo Matsushita resigns.
A three-judge court in Manisa, Turkey acquits ten police officers of torturing and sexually abusing 14 teenagers. The 14 are members of a leftist political organization
The only outside aid agency in Kosovo, the International Committee of the Red Cross, pulls its personnel out of the region after repeated death threats.
The ruling center-left coalition of Danish Social Democratic Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen wins a narrow victory in national elections that he was expected to lose. Several recounts will be necessary.
Former dictator of Chile Augusto Pinochet Ugarte is sworn in as a Senator for life. As he appears on the Senate floor, other Senators hold up pictures of people “disappeared” during his dictatorship. Conservatives protect him and fisticuffs develop.
12 March 1998 Yoshio Sugiyama, an official with the Japanese Ministry of Finance, hangs himself in his Tokyo apartment in the midst of a widespread investigation of bribery in the Japanese banking industry and government.
A report from the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that between 1990 and 1995, new cancer cases dropped in number. That is the first such decrease since statistics began being tabulated in the 1930s.
Scientists at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii announce that they have seen the furthest object yet observed from Earth. The galaxy in the constellation Triangulum is 12,200,000,000 light years away.
13 March 1998 Lawyers for Paula Jones, who is suing US President Clinton for sexual harassment, file 700 pages of documents in federal district court in Little Rock, Arkansas in support of her case. They include a sworn deposition by Kathleen Willey who said Clinton fondled her and made other unwanted sexual advances in the Oval Office in 1993.
16 March 1998 The Roman Catholic Church apologizes to Jews for their failure to take action against the Holocaust during World War II.
17 March 1998 Zhu Rongji replaces Zhao Ziyang as Prime Minister of the Peoples Republic of China.
Kanon Pokajanen for chorus by Arvo Pärt (62) is performed for the first time, in the Cologne Cathedral. It is followed by the premiere of Pärt’s Gebet nach dem Kanon.
19 March 1998 Atal Behari Vajpayee of the BJP replaces Inder Kumar Gujral as Prime Minister of India at the head of a coalition consisting of at least 20 parties.
20 March 1998 The Christian Broadcasting Network in the US agrees to pay a large fine to the IRS and accept retroactive loss of its tax-exempt status for 1986 and 1987 because they donated $8,500,000 to the presidential campaign of Pat Robertson.
Bahia, Bahia for chamber orchestra by TJ Anderson (69) is performed for the first time.
23 March 1998 President Boris Yeltsin of Russia sacks his entire cabinet. He appoints Sergey Kiriyenko as acting Prime Minister.
Albanian leaders in Kosovo and Serbian government officials sign an agreement in Pristina to bring ethnic Albanians into the state-run school system. They left the system in 1991 after the Albanian language was abolished in schools and many Albanian teachers were sacked. Serb teachers and administrators say they will block implementation of the accord.
Sinn Fein returns to the Northern Ireland peace process.
24 March 1998 The United Nations evacuates all 14 of its employees in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan because of interference by Taliban authorities.
Two students, aged 13 and 11, shoot at their teachers and classmates at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Five people are killed, ten injured.
25 March 1998 The European Commission recommends that eleven of the 15 European Union members should be permitted to join the European economic and monetary union (EMU).
On a tour of Africa, US President Bill Clinton spends three hours in Rwanda. He hears the harrowing stories of several survivors and tells them that he and the rest of the world did not do enough to stop the genocide.
26 March 1998 The chair of the Northern Ireland peace talks, George Mitchell, sets a deadline of 15 days to reach agreement.
Hans Werner Henze (71) is awarded the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art in Munich.
Concerto for violin and orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (58) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
29 March 1998 The body of Hamas master bomb-maker Muhyideen al-Sharif is found outside Ramallah. He was shot three times and his body dumped there.
Leftists do well in parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The Communist Party holds the largest share of seats with 123 of 450.
The Vasco da Gama Bridge opens over the Tagus River north of Lisbon. At 17.2 km it is the longest bridge in Europe.
Ernster Gesang mit Lied for voice and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (46) to words of Büchner is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
30 March 1998 The European Union officially begins membership negotiations with six countries and preliminary talks with five others.
Gavril Dejeu replaces Victor Ciorbea as interim Prime Minister of Romania. Ciorbea was urged to resign by members of his coalition who felt economic reforms were not going fast enough.
Astronomers at the University of Manchester announce they have photographed an Einstein Ring for the first time.
Diageo announces it will sell its brands Dewars Scotch whiskey and Bombay gin to Bacardi for £1,150,000,000.
31 March 1998 The UN Security Council votes 14-0-1 to impose an arms embargo on Yugoslavia due to increasing violence against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Luimen for trumpet, trombone, harp, vibraphone, mandolin, and guitar by Elliott Carter (89) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
1 April 1998 Radu Vasile replaces Victor Ciorbea as Prime Minister of Romania.
A federal judge in Little Rock, Arkansas throws out the lawsuit brought against US President Bill Clinton by Paula Jones, saying it is “without merit.”
2 April 1998 UNSCOM inspectors complete their first ever search of the eight presidential compounds in Iraq. They find no banned weapons.
Former French cabinet minister Maurice Papon is found guilty of complicity in Nazi atrocities during World War II. As a member of the Vichy government, Papon oversaw the deportation of hundreds of Jews to prison camps. He is sentenced to ten years in prison.
3 April 1998 The UN Commission on Human Rights condemns the United States for arbitrary and racist application of the death penalty.
Concerto for Six for bass clarinet, electric guitar, prepared piano, percussion, cello, and double bass by Tan Dun (40) is performed for the first time, in Durham, North Carolina.
Hallelujah Junction for piano duo by John Adams (51) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
4 April 1998 Drei Gedichte von Monique Thoné for voice and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (46) is performed for the first time, in Borgerbout.
5 April 1998 The Akashi Kaikyo bridge over the Akashi Strait opens to traffic. It connects Kobe with Awaji Island. At 1,991 meters it has the longest central span of any suspension bridge.
6 April 1998 Pakistan successfully tests its own Ghauri medium-range missile at the Kahuta nuclear facility 40 km northeast of Islamabad. The missile has a range of 1,500 km and can easily hit targets well inside India.
France and Great Britain become the first nuclear powers to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Travelers Group Inc. and Citicorp merge to form a new holding company, Citigroup Inc. valued at $83,000,000,000. It is the largest merger in history and creates the largest financial services company.
8 April 1998 A report issued today by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature of its 20-year study in cooperation with 15 other research organizations concludes that one of every eight known species of plants is threatened or nearly extinct.
9 April 1998 Robert Kocharyan replaces Levon Ter-Petrosyan as President of Armenia.
Russia announces that it will reduce the amount of oil it sends through Latvia. Tensions between the two countries are rising over the alleged mistreatment of the Russian minority in Latvia.
10 April 1998 Armen Darbinyan replaces Robert Kocharyan as Prime Minister of Armenia.
The Russian Duma votes down President Yeltsin’s choice of Sergey Kiriyenko as Prime Minister. Yeltsin reappoints him.
The parties in the Northern Ireland peace talks reach an historic agreement designed to bring an end to violence in the province. It requires referenda on the island of Ireland and legislation by both the British and Irish Parliaments. Northern Ireland will remain part of Great Britain but many issues will be handled by a local Northern Ireland Parliament and government. Some of these decisions will be made with the consultation of the Irish Republic. The talks were brokered by former US Senator George Mitchell.
11 April 1998 In the Still of the Night for viola by Thea Musgrave (69) is performed for the first time, in Odessa.
13 April 1998 BankAmerica Corp. announces a merger with Nations-Bank Corp. for about $60,000,000,000 in stock.
14 April 1998 The International Atomic Energy Agency issues a “full, final, and complete declaration” that the nuclear weapons program in Iraq no longer exists.
President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic undergoes surgery in Innsbruck where part of his intestine is removed. He is on vacation at the time.
The Pulitzer Committee bestows a special citation posthumously on George Gershwin (†60), commemorating the centennial year of his birth, for his distinguished and enduring contributions to American music.
15 April 1998 Pol Pot, responsible for the deaths of around 2,000,000 Cambodians in the 1970s, dies in the jungle near the Thai border, reportedly of a heart attack.
Radu Vasile replaces Gavril Dejeu as Prime Minister of Romania.
Monsters of Grace, a music theatre by Philip Glass (61) and Robert Wilson after Rumi, is performed for the first time, Royce Hall of UCLA.
16 April 1998 The Ulster Unionist Party formally endorses the Northern Ireland peace plan.
17 April 1998 Sergey Kiriyenko is turned down a second time by the Russian Duma for Prime Minister. President Yeltsin appoints him for a third time.
Canadian Imperial Bank and Toronto-Dominion Bank announce a merger after a stock transaction of C$46,700,000,000.
The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States presents its Lifetime Achievement Award to Morton Subotnick (65).
18 April 1998 Leaders of 34 nations in the Western Hemisphere meet in Santiago de Chile and in two days of talks lay the groundwork for a Free Trade Area of the Americas.
19 April 1998 China releases human rights campaigner Wang Dan and puts him on a flight to the US. The release was in return for a US promise to not sponsor a condemnation of China at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission.
Poet and Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz dies in Mexico City at the age of 84.
Four movements of Harrison’s Clocks for piano by Harrison Birtwistle (63) are performed for the first time, in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. See 13 July 1998.
20 April 1998 The Red Army Faction, a German guerilla group, releases a statement saying they have disbanded. The group carried out numerous kidnappings and killings in the 1970s and 1980s.
A federal jury in Chicago finds that Joseph Scheidler, Timothy Murphy, and Andrew Scholberg of the Pro-Life Action League are guilty of a national conspiracy that includes 21 acts of extortion against women’s health clinics in Wilmington, Delaware and Milwaukee. These acts include blocking entrances, intimidating patients, and physical violence.
21 April 1998 Mayor Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Istanbul is sentenced to ten months in jail by a court in Diyarbakir after being convicted of “inciting hatred.” The mayor advocates an Islamic solution to the political situation in Turkey.
22 April 1998 The Parliament of the Republic of Ireland formally endorses the Northern Ireland Peace Plan.
The French National Assembly votes to accept the Euro.
23 April 1998 The German Bundestag votes to convert from the Mark to the Euro as soon as it is inaugurated.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that the second leading cause of job-related deaths in the US is homicide.
24 April 1998 22 people found guilty of genocide in a Rwandan court are executed by firing squad on a soccer field in Kigali as well as four other towns in the country.
The Russian Duma approves Sergey Kiriyenko as Prime Minister on the third appointment by President Yeltsin.
A 14-year-old opens fire at a school dance near Edinboro, Pennsylvania killing one teacher and wounding another, as well as two students.
Melvin Epstein Powell dies at his home in Van Nuys, California of liver cancer, aged 75 years, two months, and 12 days.
25 April 1998 At the Los Frailes zinc mine in Aznalcollar near Seville, a dam breaks sending 5,000,000 cubic meters of toxic waste into the Guadiamar River.
Symphonia: sum fluxae pretium spei for orchestra by Elliott Carter (89) is performed completely for the first time, in Manchester, England. It is made up of Carter’s Partita, Adagio Tenebroso and Allegro Scorevole. See 17 February 1994, 13 September 1995, and 22 May 1997.
Route 66 for orchestra by Michael Daugherty (43) is performed for the first time, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
26 April 1998 Roman Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera is found dead in his garage in Guatemala City. Apparently, he was bludgeoned to death with a concrete block. Gerardi headed the human rights office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala City and recently submitted a report showing that 80% of the atrocities during the Guatemalan civil war were carried out by government troops. 150,000 people were murdered and 50,000 “disappeared” during the war.
27 April 1998 Carlos Castaneda dies in Los Angeles at the age of somewhere between 63-73.
29 April 1998 The six nation “contact group” for Kosovo (France , Germany, Italy, Russia, UK, US), meeting in Rome, agrees to impose a freeze on all overseas assets of Yugoslavia. The group says it will lift the freeze if Yugoslavia removes its special police from Kosovo and negotiates with ethnic Albanians.
Things I Don’t Know, a dance by Kevin Volans (48) to a choreography of Burrows, is performed for the first time, in Laban Center, London.
Cello Dreaming for cello, strings, and percussion by Peter Sculthorpe is performed for the first time, at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester on the composer’s 69th birthday.
30 April 1998 The Irish Republican Army releases a statement supporting the peace agreement but refusing to give up its weapons.
Triodion for chorus by Arvo Pärt (62) is performed for the first time, in Westminster Abbey.
1 May 1998 Former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda pleads guilty to six counts of genocide and other crimes against humanity at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania.
3 May 1998 Peace talks in Islamabad designed to end the Afghan Civil War break down over differences between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance.
European Union officials in Brussels initiate plans for an economic and monetary union among eleven of the EU’s 15 members. The plans are expected to result in a unified currency next year. Wim Duisenberg of the Netherlands is appointed the first head of the European Central Bank.
4 May 1998 A federal judge in Sacramento sentences Theodore Kaczynski to four life terms plus 30 years. He was convicted of four bombings which killed three people and injured two others. He is commonly known as the Unabomber.
5 May 1998 Riots take place in Medan, Indonesia against price hikes which take effect today. The price rises are a result of the IMF requirement that Indonesia sharply reduce its subsidy of energy.
Wake up...and Die for cello and cello ensemble by John Tavener (54) is performed for the first time, in Beauvais.
6 May 1998 Fighting resumes between Eritrea and Ethiopia over a disputed border region.
The two largest members in the Dutch ruling coalition, the Labor Party and the liberal Party for Freedom and Democracy, make significant gains in national elections. The voting ensures the coalition, led by Labor Prime Minister Wim Kok, will remain in power.
7 May 1998 Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp. announce plans to merge in a reported $38,300,000,000 stock deal. The new company is to be called Daimler-Chrysler.
Vickers PLC announces that it will sell Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to Volkswagen AG for £430,000,000.
Voters in London approve a plan to create a government for the entire city.
Tambor for orchestra by Joan Tower (59) is performed for the first time, in Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh.
A Reel of Seven Fishermen for orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (63) is performed for the first time, in Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
8 May 1998 A judge in Johannesburg throws out all South African laws banning homosexual relations, ruling them unconstitutional.
Five tobacco companies settle a suit brought by the State of Minnesota and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota. The plaintiffs are to receive $6,600,000,000.
9 May 1998 Wake Up and Die for solo cello or cello section by John Tavener (54) is performed for the first time, in Beauvais.
10 May 1998 At a Sinn Fein Party conference in Dublin, delegates overwhelmingly approve the April peace accords for Northern Ireland.
11 May 1998 India conducts five nuclear tests in Rajasthan today and 13 May.
SBC Communications Inc. announces it will acquire Ameritech Corp. in a stock deal of $56,180,000,000.
Korót for eight cellos by Luciano Berio (72) is performed for the first time, in Beauvais. Also premiered is Sonate à 8 for eight cellos by Betsy Jolas (71).
12 May 1998 After six students are killed in a demonstration at Jakarta’s Trisakti University, serious rioting breaks out in the city and elsewhere in Indonesia. 500 people are killed in Jakarta, 28 in Surakarta.
Peony Pavilion, an opera by Tan Dun (40) to words of Tang Xianzu (tr. Birch), is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
13 May 1998 Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic agrees to begin talks with Kosovo leader Ibrahim Rugova.
The European Parliament approves an almost total ban on tobacco advertising.
Maxwell’s Reel, with Northern Lights for orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (63) is performed for the first time, in Barbican Hall, London conducted by the composer.
14 May 1998 Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the of 82.
15 May 1998 After three days of rioting in Jakarta in which an estimated 500 people have died, President Suharto restores the subsidies he reduced on 5 May.
Argentina announces that seven out of eight officials at the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires will be expelled. They say they have proof that Iran was responsible for two bombings of Jewish targets in the capital in 1992 and 1994 in which 116 people were killed.
16 May 1998 Violin Concerto no.3 by Hans Werner Henze (71) is performed for the first time, in the Konzerthaus, Berlin.
18 May 1998 Thousands of students invade the Parliament building in Jakarta and vow to remain until President Suharto resigns.
Because of the action of 13 May, the six-nation “contact group” for the Balkans agrees to drop some sanctions against Yugoslavia.
The United States and twenty states file anti-trust lawsuits in federal district court in Washington against Microsoft Corp. The company is charged with using its dominance in personal computer operating systems to control other areas of the industry.
Deutsches Stück mit Hamlet for mezzo-soprano, baritone, and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (46) to words of several authors is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
19 May 1998 President Suharto of Indonesia makes a televised address saying he will not resign, but that elections will be held in which he will not be a candidate.
The French National Assembly votes to cut the work week to 35 hours.
The Colombian military disbands the 20th Intelligence Brigade after strong criticism by human rights groups. The unit was charged with joining with conservative death squads in human rights abuses.
20 May 1998 80,000 troops are deployed in and around Merdeka Square, Jakarta to prevent anti-Suharto demonstrations. Speaker of the House Haji Harmoko informs President Suharto that impeachment proceedings will begin if he does not resign by 22 May.
Momir Bulatovic replaces Radoje Kontic as Prime Minister of Yugoslavia.
Joan Tower (59) is inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
21 May 1998 President Suharto of Indonesia resigns and is replaced by Vice-President Bacharuddin Jusef (BJ) Habibie. Eleven cabinet ministers resign.
A 15-year-old high school student in Springfield, Oregon opens fire in the school cafeteria, killing two people and wounding 20. He killed his parents yesterday.
Seagram Co. Ltd. announces plans to buy PolyGram NV for C$14,800,000,000.
Vessels of Courage and Hope for orchestra by Shulamit Ran (48) is performed for the first time, in Baltimore. It was commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel.
22 May 1998 Students occupying the Parliament building in Jakarta since 18 May are forcibly evicted by government troops.
Serbian special police with armored vehicles and helicopters begin a new offensive against ethnic Albanians in the south of Kosovo. Thousands flee into neighboring Albania.
Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland approve the April peace accords.
24 May 1998 The center-right Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Party comes out ahead of the ruling Socialist Party in Hungarian parliamentary elections.
26 May 1998 Act I of Three Tales entitled Hindenburg, a documentary video opera by Steve Reich (61) and his wife Beryl Korot, is performed for the first time, in Sottile Theatre, Charleston, South Carolina. See 12 May 2002.
27 May 1998 The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions begins a two-day general strike to protest unemployment and the legalization of mass layoffs.
28 May 1998 Pakistan conducts probably two nuclear tests in response to similar tests by India. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claims five.
Voters in Denmark approve the Amsterdam Treaty of the European Union.
The Spider and the Fly for voice and orchestra by David del Tredici (61) to words of Howitt is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
30 May 1998 Pakistan explodes another nuclear device.
3,000-5,000 people are killed by an earthquake in northern Afghanistan. 45,000 are left homeless.
1 June 1998 Charges of treason against former President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia are dropped and he is freed.
American Home Products Corp. and Monsanto Co. announce a merger amounting to $35,000,000,000 in stock. It will be the sixth largest merger in corporate history.
The Truman Show, a film with music by Philip Glass (61) is shown for the first time, in Westwood, California.
4 June 1998 A federal judge sentences Terry Nichols to life in prison without parole for helping Timothy McVeigh to carry out the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Conservative paramilitaries in Colombia confirm they killed 25 hostages taken in May from Barrancabermeja.
5 June 1998 An international team of scientists led by Yoji Totsuka of the Kamioka Neutrino Observatory in Japan announces that they have found that neutrinos have mass.
“Meteorite”, an underground, interactive museum opens in Essen. The electronic, computer-interactive music for the space was developed by Tod Machover (44).
A La Esperanza for soprano and organ by Thea Musgrave (70) to words of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (tr. the composer) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
7 June 1998 A bomb goes off on a train in southern Pakistan. At least 23 people are killed. Pakistan blames India.
In Jasper, Texas, three white men chain a black man to the back of a pickup truck and drag him three km. The man’s head and arm are severed in the incident. One assailant admits the attack is racially motivated.
8 June 1998 General Sani Abacha, ruler of Nigeria, dies reportedly of a heart attack.
9 June 1998 General Abdulsalami Abubakar replaces Sani Abacha as Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria. 45 opposition groups call for a civilian government headed by Moshood Abiola, the apparent winner of presidential elections in 1993.
Delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention in Salt Lake City overwhelmingly approve a statement that wives should “submit gracefully” to their husbands.
11 June 1998 Pakistan declares a moratorium on further atomic tests.
Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America Inc. agrees to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the US government on behalf of the company’s female employees in Normal, Illinois. They agree to pay $34,000,000, a record for such suits.
12 June 1998 Dal Vivo, a multimedia installation by Laurie Anderson (51), opens in Milan.
13 June 1998 Independent counsel Kenneth Starr admits leaking information to reporters about his investigations of US President Clinton.
14 June 1998 The longest suspension bridge in Europe, and the second longest in the world, opens connecting the islands of Zealand and Funen in Denmark. It has a free span of 1,620 meters.
15 June 1998 NATO aircraft conduct exercises near the Yugoslavian border with Albania and Macedonia in a show of force to get President Milosovic to stop his military crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
The new administration of Nigeria orders the release of nine political prisoners who were critical of the previous regime.
16 June 1998 Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosovic agrees to resume talks with ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova. He also allows international aid groups into Kosovo. He refuses to withdraw his forces from the province.
Israeli warplanes attack Hezbollah terrorists near Sojod, Lebanon.
17 June 1998 In memoriam, Pádraig Pearse for orchestra by Arnold Bax (†44) is performed for the first time, in Manchester 82 years after it was composed.
19 June 1998 The three largest Swiss banks offer $600,000,000 to victims of Nazi atrocities to settle claims that they could not recover their assets deposited with the banks before World War II. Jewish leaders call the offer inadequate.
20 June 1998 After two days of voting in Czech national elections, the Social Democratic Party gains 13 seats while the center-right Civic Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus loses five seats.
Come and do Your will in me for chorus by John Tavener (54) to words of Archimandrite Vasileios and the Orthodox liturgy is performed for the first time, in Chester Cathedral.
Merlin, an opera by Isaac Albéniz (†89) to words of Money-Coutts, is performed for the first time in the original English, in a concert setting in Auditorio Nacional, Madrid. See 13 February 1905 and 18 December 1950.
21 June 1998 All factions in the Burundi civil war agree to a temporary cease-fire.
Mrs. Linklater’s Tune for violin by Peter Maxwell Davies (63) is performed for the first time, in Stromness, Orkney.
The first public performance of Study for Player Piano no.47 by Conlon Nancarrow (†0) takes place in Essen.
23 June 1998 An appeals court in Washington overturns an injunction ordering Microsoft Corp. to sell its operating system separately from Internet Explorer.
24 June 1998 AT&T Corp. announces plans to buy Tele-Communications Inc for $37,300,000,000 in stock.
25 June 1998 Voters go to the polls in Northern Ireland to elect a new 108-member assembly.
The US Supreme Court rules 8-1 that the federal government may take “decency standards” into account when awarding grants to artists.
...depart in peace... for soprano and strings by John Tavener (54) to words from the Bible, is performed for the first time, in the Hellenic Center, London.
29 June 1998 Indicted Serb war criminal Slavko Dokmanovic is found hanging in his cell at The Hague War Crimes Tribunal. Dokmanovic was charged with six counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his activities at Vukovar in 1991.
The second and third largest banks in Switzerland begin operations as a new merged entity called UBS AG with assets of $700,000,000,000. It is now the second largest bank in the world.
The Parades Commission refuses permission of Protestants in Portadown, Northern Ireland to march down Garvaghy Road, a mainly Catholic area.
30 June 1998 Joseph Marcelo Ejercito Estrada replaces Fidel Valdez Ramos as President of the Philippines.
Serbian special police retake the Belacevac coal mine which had been taken over by ethnic Albanians.
1 July 1998 The newly constituted Northern Ireland Assembly names David Trimble as First Minister. This night, ten Roman Catholic churches are set on fire throughout the province.
Eternity’s Sunrise for soprano, flute, oboe, lute, handbells, and strings by John Tavener (54) to words of Blake is performed for the first time, in St. Andrew’s Church, Holborn.
Tempo e tempi, a song for soprano, oboe, clarinet, violin, and cello by Elliott Carter (89), is performed for the first time, at the Pontino Festival, Castelo Caetani, Sermoneta, Italy. See 24 May 2000.
2 July 1998 Eden: Out of Time and Out of Space for guitar and chamber ensemble by George Rochberg (79) is performed for the first time, in Portland, Oregon.
3 July 1998 Serbian special police retake Kijevo, Kosovo after a two-week siege.
2,000 British soldiers and police arrive in Portadown, Northern Ireland and begin erecting barricades and other barriers to prevent Protestants from marching through a Catholic district.
4 July 1998 Planet-B, an unmanned space probe sent to orbit Mars by Japan, is launched from Kagoshima on Kyushu.
The Presidents of China and Kazakhstan sign a treaty laying out their common border.
Alfred Schnittke (63) suffers a fifth stroke, in Hamburg.
5 July 1998 Protestant extremists attempting to march through the largely Catholic section of Portadown, Northern Ireland are halted by police and British soldiers. They vow to remain at the roadblock until they are allowed to march. Most leave by nightfall. Violence erupts in Protestant areas of the province. Over 2,500 violent incidents occur over the next ten days.
6 July 1998 Viktor Orbán replaces Gyula Horn as Prime Minister of Hungary.
7 July 1998 Japanese scientists achieve the first unmanned docking of spacecraft in orbit.
Nigerian opposition leader Moshood Abiola dies in prison in Abuja just as it seems the new government will release him. Rioting takes place in Lagos and the Yoruba region in the southwest of the country, Abiola’s home.
A court in Milan finds former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi guilty of bribing officials to protect his businesses from tax inspection. He is sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.
The London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Börse, Frankfurt sign an agreement to create a joint electronic trading system.
Hundreds of thousands of workers take part in a two-day general strike in Puerto Rico to protest the privatization of Puerto Rico Telephone Co.
8 July 1998 Over the last four days there have been over 400 incidents of violence by mostly Protestants towards police in Northern Ireland.
Voters in Portugal narrowly reject a proposal to liberalize the country’s abortion laws.
Pro-Life advocates spray butyric acid on the floors and into the ventilation systems of three medical clinics in Houston. Three people are hospitalized. Several are treated at the scene for nausea. This follows several similar attacks in Louisiana and Florida over the past two months.
11 July 1998 Credo for five solo voices, children’s chorus, chorus, and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (64) is performed for the first time, in Eugene, Oregon.
12 July 1998 Three Roman Catholic brothers are killed when a firebomb is thrown into their row house in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. They are aged 11, 9, and 7.
France defeats Brazil 3-0 to win the 16th FIFA World Cup™ in Paris.
13 July 1998 Ryutaro Hashimoto resigns as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party following election losses yesterday in the House of Councillors.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is convicted in Milan of giving 22,000,000,000 lire to the Socialist Party and Bettino Craxi, who was Prime Minister at the time. He is sentenced to two years and four months in prison and fined 10,000,000,000 lire. Craxi, currently living in Tunisia, is convicted in absentia.
Harrison’s Clocks for piano by Harrison Birtwistle (63) is performed completely for the first time, in Cheltenham. See 19 April 1998.
14 July 1998 The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe rules that changes planned in written German may proceed unhindered. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have already agreed to the plan.
Former President Jorge Rafael Videla of Argentina is indicted on charges of child abduction. He is charged with personally directing the program in the 1970s of stealing the children of leftist political prisoners and placing them with military families. The birth mothers were then killed.
15 July 1998 The Sudan People’s Liberation Army declares a three-month cease-fire in order to allow emergency food shipments to reach famine victims in the southwest of Sudan.
Police begin a search in Portadown and find numerous weapons among the Protestants. They forcibly remove the small number of marchers still present, thus ending the standoff.
17 July 1998 A tsunami consisting of three giant waves crashes ashore on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea inundating and washing away several villages. Approximately 6,000 people are lost. The first wave is nine meters high.
The Russian government conducts a funeral for Tsar Nikolay II and his family at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, 80 years to the day after their execution. Buried in the cathedral vault are the bodies of Tsar Nikolay, Tsarina Alexandra, three of their children, Olga, Anastasia, and Tatiana, and four family servants. The other two children, Maria and Aleksey, have not been found.
Milos Zeman of the Social Democratic Party replaces Josef Tosovsky as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic leading a leftist minority government.
The UN General Assembly votes 120-7 in favor of a treaty to create a permanent international court to try war crimes. China, Israel, and the US all oppose it.
The Nixon Tapes, version I, scenes from Nixon in China for voices and orchestra by John Adams (51) is performed for the first time, in Aspen, Colorado, the composer conducting.
20 July 1998 The first synagogue built in Hungary since World War II is inaugurated.
22 July 1998 200 people are killed by men wielding machetes in the northern province of Lunda Norte, Angola. The government blames UNITA rebels. UNITA blames diamond traffickers.
23 July 1998 Reformist Mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi of Teheran is found guilty of embezzlement and mismanagement and sentenced to five years in prison.
Palestinian Ghazi Ibrahim Abu Maizar is found guilty in federal court in New York of plotting to place a bomb on the New York subway system.
Hermann Prey dies at his home near Munich at the age of 69.
24 July 1998 Yugoslav army units begin an offensive in Kosovo. Over the next two weeks, they will recapture many towns from ethnic Albanians and cause many to flee.
Russell Weston breaks through a security checkpoint at the US Capitol building in Washington and is apprehended after a gun battle. Two Capitol policemen are killed. Weston and another person are injured.
28 July 1998 Bell Atlantic Corporation and GTE Corporation announce an agreement to swap $52,000,000,000 in stocks to create a company which will be named Verizon Corp.
29 July 1998 The Supreme Court of Spain sentences twelve former officials to prison for overzealous attempts to quash the Basque separatist movement. Among those sent to prison are a former Interior Minister, a provincial governor and a director of state security.
US President Bill Clinton agrees to give videotaped testimony about his relationship with former intern, Monica Lewinsky.
The Brazilian government sells its 19.3% stake in the national telephone company, Telebras.
Jerome Robbins dies of a stroke in New York, aged 79 years.
30 July 1998 Keizo Obuchi replaces Ryutaro Hashimoto as Prime Minister of Japan.
1 August 1998 Dr. Milan Kovacevic, a Serb believed responsible for 2,000 deaths at three concentration camps in Bosnia in 1992, dies in custody at The Hague apparently of a heart attack.
2 August 1998 Dissident army units begin a revolt against the government of Congo (Kinshasa) by taking the eastern towns of Goma and Bukavu.
3 August 1998 Alfred Garryevich Schnittke dies a month after suffering a fifth stroke in Hamburg, aged 63 years, eight months, and ten days.
5 August 1998 President Saddam Hussein of Iraq suspends cooperation with UN weapons inspectors until sanctions on his country are lifted.
Apolytikion of the Incarnation for chorus by John Tavener (54) to words from the Orthodox liturgy is performed for the first time, in Truro Cathedral.
6 August 1998 A Little Book of Hours for piano by Peter Sculthorpe (69) is performed for the first time, in Great Britain.
Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky testifies before a grand jury in Washington. She contradicts President Bill Clinton and admits to a sexual affair with Clinton conducted inside the White House.
7 August 1998 Moslem militants explode a bomb at the United States embassy in Nairobi. 247 people are killed, about 5,000 wounded. Only a small number of the casualties are American. Within ten minutes another bomb explodes at the US embassy in Dar es Salaam. Ten people are killed there, about 75 injured. None of the casualties are American. The Al-Qaeda terrorist organization is suspected.
8 August 1998 Duettino for oboe and violin by Richard Wernick (64) is performed for the first time, in Aspen, Colorado.
10 August 1998 Thousands attend the funeral of Alfred Schnittke in Moscow.
11 August 1998 British Petroleum announces a deal to buy Amoco Corporation for $48,200,000,000.
12 August 1998 Taliban fighters capture Hayratan on the border with Uzbekistan and Pol-i-Khomri, bringing their rule to over 90% of Afghanistan.
Swiss banks agree to pay $1,250,000,000 to holocaust victims who lost assets deposited in the banks before and during World War II. The announcement comes in New York.
13 August 1998 Congolese rebels capture the Inga hydroelectric dam which supplies electricity to Kinshasa. They also capture the river port of Matadi 280 km southwest of Kinshasa, the main port of entry for goods traveling to the capital.
15 August 1998 A hard-line IRA splinter group explodes a car bomb in Omagh, Northern Ireland. 28 people are killed, 220 injured.
17 August 1998 In an attempt to save its crumbling economy, Russia devalues the ruble and suspends foreign debt payments.
US President Bill Clinton testifies before a federal grand jury about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Later, he makes a televised address acknowledging that he had an inappropriate relationship with Ms. Lewinsky and had misled the nation about it.
18 August 1998 Lucerne Fanfare for eight trumpets and percussion by Krzysztof Penderecki (64) is performed for the first time, in Lucerne.
19 August 1998 Assicurazioni Generali SpA agrees to pay $100,000,000 to policy holders and their heirs who were victims of Nazi atrocities during World War II.
20 August 1998 US naval vessels fire cruise missiles at a suspected terrorist site in Afghanistan and at a pharmaceutical facility in Khartoum.
The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec is not free to secede without negotiating terms with the other provinces and the federal government. However, if Quebec does vote to secede the other governments would be obliged to negotiate a separation.
21 August 1998 Former President of South Africa PW Botha is found guilty of contempt in the town of George for refusing to testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is fined about $16,000 or to serve one year in jail.
22 August 1998 The hard-line splinter group the Irish National Liberation Army declares a cease-fire in its fight against British rule in Northern Ireland.
23 August 1998 President Boris Yeltsin of Russia sacks Sergey Vladilenovich Kiriyenko as Prime Minister and reinstates Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin.
25 August 1998 A bomb explodes in a US-owned restaurant in Cape Town. One person is killed, 25 injured. A Moslem group claims responsibility, saying it was in response to recent US missile attacks in Sudan and Afghanistan.
For Justine for cello by Peter Sculthorpe (69) is performed for the first time, in Dartington, Great Britain.
26 August 1998 The Chinese government announces that 3,004 people have died this summer in flooding along several rivers. 5,000,000 houses have been destroyed and 21,000,000 hectares of farmland ruined.
The Russian central bank suspends trading in the ruble after it takes a nose dive.
Scott Ritter resigns as chief UNSCOM weapons inspector, claiming the UN is not aggressive enough in dealing with the Iraqi government.
27 August 1998 The plunging Russian economy causes a massive sell off of stocks world wide.
Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-Owhali is arraigned in federal court in New York for taking part in the Nairobi embassy bombing.
28 August 1998 Mohammed Saddiq Odeh is arraigned in federal court in New York for taking part in the Nairobi embassy bombing.
Les sept péchés capitaux and La Xe remix for tape by Pierre Henry (70) are performed for the first time, in Montreux.
30 August 1998 An extended version of Sur Incises for piano solo, two pianos, three harps, vibraphone, and marimba by Pierre Boulez (73) is performed for the first time, in Edinburgh. See 27 April 1996.
31 August 1998 North Korea launches an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in the direction of Japan. One stage lands in the Sea of Japan, southeast of Vladivostok. The other stage goes over Japan and lands in the Pacific, 580 km northeast of Misawa, Japan.
The Russian Duma rejects Viktor Chernomyrdin as Prime Minister.
4 September 1998 The UN war crimes tribunal for Rwanda, convened in Arusha, Tanzania, convicts former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda and sentences him to prison for life for his part in the 1994 genocide.
6 September 1998 Akira Kurosawa dies in Tokyo at the age of 88.
8 September 1998 Yugoslav forces begin a two-week offensive against ethnic Albanians in the north and center of Kosovo. The US State Department reports that 212 villages are destroyed during this time.
9 September 1998 Special prosecutor Kenneth Starr presents his report to the US Congress on the conduct of President Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky case. He does so because he finds “substantial and credible information…that may constitute grounds for an impeachment” of the president.
10 September 1998 Israeli troops carry out a surprise raid on Hebron and kill two leaders of the Arab terrorist group Hamas.
De profundis for string orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (64) is performed for the first time, in Salerno, conducted by the composer.
Wild Purple for solo viola by Joan Tower (60) is performed for the first time, in Merkin Concert Hall, New York.
11 September 1998 Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov replaces Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin as Prime Minister of Russia.
Volkswagen AG starts a $12,000,000 fund to compensate slave laborers who worked for the company during World War II.
The report of Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr to the US House of Representatives is made public by the House. It lists eleven possible grounds for impeachment, five counts of perjury, four counts of obstruction of justice, one count of witness tampering, and one count of abuse of power. The House publishes it on the internet.
Boogie Woogie Fantasy for piano by TJ Anderson (70) is performed for the first time, at Duke University.
12 September 1998 Attorneys for President Clinton publish their rebuttal to the Starr report on the internet.
In a version for voice and symphony orchestra, Canto General by Mikis Theodorakis (73) is performed for the first time, in the Flämmereihalle in Linz, conducted by the composer.
Miss Manners on Music, a cycle for voice and piano by Dominick Argento (70) to words of Judith Martin (Miss Manners), is performed for the first time, in the Cosmos Club, Washington. It is a commission from Ms. Martin’s husband to celebrate her 60th birthday.
13 September 1998 Supporters of the opposition Democratic Party lay siege to government buildings in Tirana, Albania. Prime Minister Fatos Nano flees his offices amidst a gun battle. They are angered over the death yesterday of Azem Hajdari, one of their members.
14 September 1998 WorldCom and MCI complete their $40,000,000,000 merger to create MCI WorldCom.
Followers of former President Sali Berisha seize government buildings including the Parliament and a government television station in Tirana.
16 September 1998 A UN committee visiting Algeria finds that the great majority of the 75,000 deaths that have happened since the civil war began in 1992 have been caused by Islamic militants. They also say some government excesses have occurred.
The Basque separatist group ETA calls a cease-fire in their struggle against the Spanish government.
Burkina Faso becomes the 40th nation to ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction. With this ratification, the treaty will go into effect in six months.
17 September 1998 William Hugh Albright dies of liver failure at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, aged 53 years, ten months, and 28 days.
Autumn Music by Ned Rorem (74) is performed for the first time, at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
20 September 1998 In parliamentary elections in Sweden, the ruling Social Democratic Party loses 30 seats and is forced into an alliance with smaller parties.
21 September 1998 The US House of Representatives, controlled by the opposition Republican Party, makes public the videotaped testimony of President Clinton before a federal grand jury on 17 August. Within minutes it is broadcast on seven television networks.
22 September 1998 200,000 Iranian troops conduct military exercise on the border with Afghanistan. The Iranians are upset about the deaths of eleven Iranians at the hands of the Taliban as they overran Mazar-i-Sharif in August. The Taliban have refused to apologize.
600 soldiers from South Africa and 200 from Botswana enter Lesotho to put down a military rebellion.
Vers une Symphonie fleuve IV for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (46) is performed for the first time, in Dresden. See 5 May 2001.
23 September 1998 South African and Botswana troops gain control of Maseru, Lesotho.
The UN Security Council votes 14-0-1 to call for a cease-fire in Kosovo. They call on Serbia to withdraw its military “used for civilian repression” and for ethnic Albanians to end acts of terrorism. They also authorize the use of force to bring about this resolution.
24 September 1998 Foreign Ministers of Great Britain and Iran announce in New York that their countries will reestablish diplomatic relations after ten years. Iran has publicly announced that it no longer calls for the death of author Salman Rushdie.
25 September 1998 Spaghetti Western for english horn and orchestra by Michael Daugherty (44) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh.
26 September 1998 Serbian security forces murder 60 civilians, many of them children, in the Central Drenica region of Kosovo.
O Corvo Branco, an opera by Philip Glass (61) to words of Costa Gomes, is performed for the first time, at the Lisbon World Expo.
27 September 1998 Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka launch an offensive to take a strategic highway. 1,300 people are killed in the fighting.
Voting for the German Bundestag results in a plurality of seats for the Social Democratic Party and heavy losses for the Christian Democrats, thus ending the 16-year rule of conservative Helmut Kohl.
National elections in Slovakia result in a victory for a coalition of opposition parties.
White Raven, an opera by Philip Glass (61) is performed for the first time, in Lisbon.
30 September 1998 President Clinton announces that for the first time since 1969 the US federal budget year ends on a surplus.
Asanga for percussion by Kevin Volans (49) is performed for the first time, in Stockholm.
1 October 1998 Emerson Overture for piano and orchestra by Charles Ives (†44) (realized by Porter) is performed for the first time, in Severance Hall, Cleveland.
2 October 1998 Pandeli Sotir Majko replaces Fatos Thamas Nano as Prime Minister of Albania.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania convicts Jean-Paul Akayesu, former mayor of the village of Taba, of complicity in the deaths of 2,000 people during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. He is sentenced to life in prison. It is the first genocide ruling of an international court.
3 October 1998 The ruling center-right coalition of Australian Prime Minister John Howard wins a narrow victory in national elections, although with a significantly reduced majority.
4 October 1998 President Fernando Henrique Cardoso wins a second four-year term in national elections in Brazil. In the Chamber of Deputies, the Liberal Front wins the most seats.
6 October 1998 Matthew Shepard, a homosexual student at the University of Wyoming, is kidnapped, robbed, beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead by two men near Laramie.
Concerto for cello and orchestra by Samuel Adler (70) is performed for the first time, in Rochester, New York.
8 October 1998 The US House of Representatives votes to begin an impeachment investigation of President Bill Clinton.
Travelers Group Inc. and Citicorp complete their merger to create the largest financial services company in the world with assets of $697,500,000,000.
9 October 1998 The Constitutional Court of South Africa rules that apartheid-era laws against homosexual relations are unconstitutional.
The government of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi loses a confidence vote 313-312. The Prime Minister and his government resign.
Scenes from Antwerp op.85, symphonic images by Robin Holloway (54), is performed for the first time, in Antwerp.
11 October 1998 The largest mass grave found in Bosnia to date is uncovered by investigators at Donja Glumina, 30 km east of Tuzla. The bodies are believed to be victims of Serb “ethnic cleansing.”
12 October 1998 NATO sets a 96-hour deadline and authorizes the use of force against Serbia if it does not end its crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Matthew Shepard, beaten on 6 October, dies of his wounds at a Colorado hospital. Two men are charged today with first-degree murder.
13 October 1998 Great Sandy Island for orchestra by Peter Sculthorpe (69) is performed for the first time, in Suntory Hall, Tokyo.
Slobodan Milosevic agrees to the UN resolution of 23 September. He also agrees to allow officials from The Hague tribunal access to Kosovo.
Zivko Radisic replaces Alija Izetbegovic as Chairman of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina.
15 October 1998 NATO officials express dissatisfaction with Serbian compliance with their ultimatum.
Double Concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra by Ned Rorem (74) is performed for the first time, in Indianapolis.
16 October 1998 NATO decides to extend their ultimatum to the Serbians by ten days.
General Augusto Pinochet, former dictator of Chile, is arrested in London on request of his extradition by Spain. He is charged with “crimes of genocide and terrorism that include murder” which involve 79 Spanish citizens.
17 October 1998 The government of Chile demands the release of Augusto Pinochet claiming he has immunity as a former head of state and member of the Chilean Senate.
18 October 1998 Styx und Lethe for cello and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (46) is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen.
19 October 1998 Psalm 126 for speaker, chorus, and orchestra by Philip Glass (61) is performed for the first time, in Lincoln Center, New York.
21 October 1998 Massimo D’Alema of the Democratic Party of the Left replaces Romano Prodi as Prime Minister of Italy at the head of a mostly center-left coalition.
22 October 1998 A newly declassified report shows that the US Central Intelligence Agency continued to support the military of Honduras in the 1980s even though they knew the Hondurans were engaged in abuses of human rights. It states that the CIA misled Congress in order to keep up support for the Nicaraguan Contras.
23 October 1998 After nine days of intensive negotiation at the Wye River Conference Center in Maryland, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Arab leader Yassir Arafat sign an interim agreement in Washington. Israel agrees to withdraw from 13% of the West Bank.
Obstetrician Dr. Barnett Slepian is shot and killed by Pro-Life advocate James Kopp in his home in Amherst, New York, near Buffalo.
Etude 17 from György Ligeti’s (75) Etudes for piano Book III is performed for the first time, in London.
Echoes from the Silent Call of Girona for string quartet and computer generated sounds by Morton Subotnick (65) is performed for the first time, in Pasadena, California.
24 October 1998 Echoes from the Silent call of Girona for string quartet and computer by Morton Subotnick (65) is performed for the first time, in the Presbyterian Church of Pasadena, California.
26 October 1998 Serbian army and police units begin to withdraw from Kosovo. Many of the estimated 280,000 refugees begin returning to their homes.
Beginning today and continuing through 31 October, Hurricane Mitch strikes Central America. 11,000 people are killed and millions are left homeless. Hardest hit are Honduras and Nicaragua. 25% of the population of Honduras is left homeless. In Nicaragua the number is 20%.
The presidents of Peru and Ecuador sign a treaty ending their 50-year-old border dispute.
27 October 1998 Gerhard Schröder replaces Helmut Kohl as Chancellor of Germany in a coalition of his Social Democratic Party with the Green Party.
Declaring that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic is in “substantial compliance” with their demands, NATO suspends the threat of air strikes.
Chana’s Story, a cycle for voice and piano by David Del Tredici (61) to words of Bloch, is performed for the first time, in San Francisco the composer at the keyboard.
28 October 1998 Great Britain’s High Court rules that former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is immune from arrest and extradition to Spain.
Ted Hughes dies at his home in North Tawton, England at the age of 68.
29 October 1998 An Arab terrorist kills an Israeli soldier and himself in a bomb attack on a school bus in the Gaza Strip. The terrorist could not make it past an armored convoy guarding the bus.
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission issues its final report on human rights violations during the apartheid period. They say that the white minority government was responsible for most of the murders and kidnappings during the era, but also laid blame with some opposition groups, especially the African National Congress.
30 October 1998 Mikulás Dzurinda replaces Vladimir Meciar as Prime Minister and acting President of Slovakia leading a four-party coalition.
Several United Nations agencies begin a coordinated effort to eradicate malaria.
Two works by Mikis Theodorakis (73) are performed for the first time, in Philharmonic Hall, Munich conducted by the composer: Rhapsody for cello and orchestra and Concerto for guitar and orchestra.
Für Celia affettuoso for six voices by Betsy Jolas (72) to her own words is performed for the first time, in la Cité des Arts, Paris.
Tales (Tails) of the Signifying Monkey for orchestra by Anthony Davis (47) is performed for the first time, in Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh.
31 October 1998 Sofia Gubaidulina (67) is awarded the Praemium Imperiale in ceremonies in Suntory Hall, Tokyo.
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq ends cooperation with UN weapons inspectors.
Scientists at Harvard University led by Evan Snyder announce that they have isolated neural stem cells from a human fetus.
1 November 1998 Wolfgang Rihm’s (46) rhapsody for trumpet, percussion, and orchestra Marsyas is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe. See 24 March 2000.
3 November 1998 In elections for both houses of the US Congress, the Democratic Party makes unexpected gains but the Republican Party remains in control. There is no change in the Senate and the Democrats win five seats in the House.
In the Month of Athyr for narrator and chorus by John Tavener (54) to words of Cavafy (tr. Sherrard) is performed for the first time, in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
4 November 1998 A federal grand jury in New York indicts Osama bin Laden with 238 counts of murder, conspiracy, and other crimes in the bombings of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam. Four other al-Qaeda members are also named in the indictments.
5 November 1998 The British periodical Nature reports a study by scientists at Oxford University that tends to show that Thomas Jefferson fathered a child by one of his slaves, Sally Hemmings.
6 November 1998 A car carrying two Arab terrorists and their bomb explodes prematurely near a marketplace in West Jerusalem. The bombers are killed and 24 bystanders are injured.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison led by James Thomson announce that they have isolated and cultivated human embryonic stem cells.
US President Clinton announces that he is lifting some sanctions on India and Pakistan because of their progress on nuclear arms control.
8 November 1998 15 people are convicted in Dhaka for the 1975 murder of the first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Although only five are actually in custody, they are all sentenced to death.
10 November 1998 Scientists at Johns Hopkins University led by John Gearhart announce that they have isolated and cultivated human embryonic stem cells. These are a different kind from those announced four days ago.
11 November 1998 US President Clinton warns Iraq that military action will follow if they do not immediately allow weapons inspections to continue. The UN withdraws its inspectors and 300 aid workers for their safety.
12 November 1998 Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp. complete their merger as DaimlerChrysler AG. It is the third largest automobile manufacturer in the world.
Many Years for soprano and string quartet by John Tavener (54) is performed for the first time, in Hampton Court Palace to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Prince of Wales.
13 November 1998 US President Bill Clinton settles the law suit brought against him by Paula Jones by paying her $850,000. He admits no wrongdoing.
14 November 1998 Iraq agrees unconditionally to the resumption of UN weapons inspections. US bombers, already airborne and heading for Iraq, are recalled.
After two weeks of meetings in Buenos Aires, representatives of 160 nations agree to create a timetable for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol by the year 2000.
Arianna abbandonata op.58c for tenor and guitar by Alexander Goehr (66) to words of Rinuccini is performed for the first time before a live audience, at United Reform Church, Muswell Hill, London. See 10 December 1997.
15 November 1998 Dust, an opera by Robert Ashley (68) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Yokohama.
A revised version of Ballet-Variationen by Hans Werner Henze (72) is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in Berlin. See 28 September 1949 and 21 December 1958.
Piano Concerto no.2 by Milton Babbitt (82) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
16 November 1998 Esad Landzo and Hazim Delic become the first Bosnian Moslems to be convicted of war crimes by the Hague Tribunal. They are sentenced to 15 and 20 years imprisonment, respectively.
17 November 1998 The Israeli Knesset votes 75-19 to endorse the Wye accords.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the National Front Party in France, is forbidden to hold office for one year after he assaulted a National Assembly candidate in last year’s general election.
The UN Security Council calls on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to allow international investigators into Kosovo to gather information about war crimes.
18 November 1998 Trading in shares in Telekomunikacja Polska SA, Poland’s state telephone company, begins on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Rocketekya for klezmer clarinet, klezmer fiddle, electronic viola, and double bass by Osvaldo Golijov (37) is performed for the first time, in Merkin Hall, New York.
Quintet for piano and strings by Elliott Carter (89) is performed for the first time, in Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress, Washington.
19 November 1998 Televised hearings by the House Judiciary Committee into the impeachment of President Clinton begin in Washington. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr admits that he could not find sufficient evidence of Clinton’s culpability in any the matters he was hired to investigate. Only Clinton’s attempt to conceal his affair with Monica Lewinsky remains in question.
20 November 1998 Israeli forces withdraw from 9.1% of the West Bank, release 250 prisoners and allow the opening of an airport in the Gaza Strip, all in compliance with the Wye accords.
An appeals court in Italy refuses Turkey’s request for extradition of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, because of a law which prohibits extradition to countries which execute people.
The first element of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched into orbit by Russia from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was paid for by the United States and built in Moscow.
Galina Starovoitova, a leading democracy reformer in Russia, is shot and killed in the stairwell of her apartment in St. Petersburg. Her associate, Ruslan Linkov, is also shot and seriously wounded.
In the largest civil settlement in the history of the United States, the four largest tobacco companies agree to pay $206,000,000,000 to 46 states, the District of Columbia, and four territories to pay for public health costs caused by their product.
21 November 1998 The Italian government releases Abdullah Ocalan, a leading Kurdish separatist, after Turkey’s request for extradition is turned down.
22 November 1998 Dissident poet Mohammed Mokhtari and his wife are found stabbed to death in their home in Teheran. The government is suspected.
Celestial Dinner Music for flute and harp by William Bolcom (60) is performed for the first time, in Washington.
24 November 1998 The mortal remains of Galina Starovoitova, leading democracy reformer in Russia, are buried at Alexander Nevsky Monastery, a high national honor. Thousands waited up to five hours in the cold to pay their respects as her body lay in state.
America Online Inc. announces its plans to acquire Netscape Communications Corp. for $4,200,000,000 in stock. It also announces plans for a marketing alliance with Sun Microsystems Inc., maker of Java.
Wild Winter II for chorus by Thea Musgrave (70) is performed for the first time, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
25 November 1998 The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (the Law Lords), the highest court in Great Britain, rules that former dictator Augusto Pinochet is not immune from prosecution and may be extradited to Spain.
Amidst accusations of ties to organized crime and corruption, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz of Turkey loses a confidence vote and resigns.
26 November 1998 Vilis Kristopans replaces Guntars Krasts as Prime Minister of Latvia.
27 November 1998 Swinton Jig for orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (64) is performed for the first time, at York University conducted by the composer.
30 November 1998 Ljubco Georgievski replaces Branko Crvenkovski as Prime Minister of Macedonia.
Deutsche Bank AG announces that it will by Bankers Trust Corp. of New York for $10,100,000,000. This makes Deutsche Bank the largest financial service company in the world in assets.
Musis Aurora Benigna for brass by Peter Maxwell Davies (64) is performed for the first time, at the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
My Gaze Is Ever upon You for violin and tape by John Tavener (54) is performed for the first time, in the Hellenic Center, London.
1 December 1998 Exxon Corp. announces it will buy Mobil Corp. for $75,300,000,000 in stock. It is the largest merger in history and creates the largest corporation in the world in annual revenue.
Gedrängte Form for 14 players by Wolfgang Rihm (46) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main. Also premiered is Rihm’s cycle Nebendraußen for baritone and piano to words of Lenz.
2 December 1998 After four years of investigation and trial by an independent counsel, former US Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy is acquitted on 30 counts of corruption.
String Quartet no.2 by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (59) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
3 December 1998 Sea Elegy for solo voice, chorus, and orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (64) to words of George Mackay Brown is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh the composer conducting.
5 December 1998 The last Khmer Rouge fighters surrender to the Cambodian government.
Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour attach the second component to the international space station.
Local elections take place in Nigeria as part of a process of return to democracy.
6 December 1998 An Orkney Tune for piano by Peter Maxwell Davies (64) is performed for the first time, in Collins Performing Arts Center, Rochester, New York.
9 December 1998 British Home Secretary Jack Straw rules that extradition proceedings against Chilean former dictator Augusto Pinochet may proceed.
Iraqi authorities deny entrance to the headquarters of the Baath Party in Baghdad as requested by UN weapons inspectors.
The Swiss Parliament votes to make Ruth Dreifuss the first female president of the country. She will take office on 1 January.
Clarissa Sequence op.30b for soprano and orchestra by Robin Holloway (55) to his own words after Richardson is performed for the first time, in London. See 18 May 1990.
10 December 1998 The Bulgarian Parliament votes to abolish the death penalty.
‘kein Gedanke, nur ruhiger Schlaf’ op.65 for chamber ensemble by Alexander Goehr (66) is performed for the first time, in Birmingham. It is an arrangement by the composer of part of his Schlussgesang op.61 in honor of Olivier Messiaen (†6) on the 90th anniversary of his birth.
11 December 1998 Islamic extremists kill 81 people in three Algerian villages.
The Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives votes three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. The first charges him with perjury before a grand jury. The second charges him with perjury in a sworn statement in the Paula Jones case. The third charges him with obstruction of justice by encouraging Monica Lewinsky to lie in the Jones case. The vote was almost entirely on party lines.
In today’s issue of Science two teams of researchers, one at the Sanger Center in Cambridge, UK and one at Washington University in St. Louis, announce they have completed the first complete genome of an animal. The animal is Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic worm.
12 December 1998 The Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives votes a fourth article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. It accuses him of making “perjurious, false and misleading statements” in response to questions from the committee. The vote was strictly on party lines.
13 December 1998 The Japanese government takes over the insolvent Nippon Credit Bank Ltd.
Voters in Puerto Rico decide to keep their current status with the United States.
14 December 1998 In Gaza, in the presence of US President Bill Clinton, the Palestine National Council votes to remove all articles in its charter calling for the destruction of Israel.
Serbian soldiers kill 36 members of the Kosovo Liberation Army in southwestern Kosovo. In retaliation, KLA gunmen open fire in a café in Pec. Six Serbs are killed, 15 wounded.
15 December 1998 Chief UN weapons inspector Richard Butler submits a report to the UN stating that Iraq did not follow through on promises of cooperation and had put new restrictions on the inspections.
16 December 1998 US federal prosecutors indict five men, two Tanzanians, two Kenyans and an Egyptian, with 238 counts relating to the embassy bombings in July.
23:00 US and UK forces launch a punitive strike against Iraq with cruise missiles and warplanes. About 50 targets are hit. Several leading Republicans claim that Clinton ordered the attack to deflect attention from the impeachment hearings. Clinton responds that the timing was based on the UN report of yesterday and that is was the unanimous opinion of his advisors that the attack should begin immediately.
17 December 1998 16:00 US and UK warplanes begin a second wave of attacks against Iraq.
Russia recalls its ambassador to the US in anger over the Iraq attacks.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that 1998 has been the warmest year on record.
Masked gunmen abduct and kill Mayor Zvonko Bojanic of Kosovo Polje, Kosovo in retaliation for the events of 14 December.
19 December 1998 The US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Bill Clinton. It approves Articles I and III as voted by the Judiciary Committee but rejects Articles II and IV. The votes are closely along party lines, except for Article IV which saw 81 Republicans vote no. The man chosen by Republicans to be the next Speaker of the House, Robert Livingston, withdraws his candidacy after admitting extra-marital affairs.
20 December 1998 02:00 The United States and Great Britain conclude their 70-hour attack on Iraq.
21 December 1998 The Israeli Knesset votes to end the current conservative government and call new elections.
22 December 1998 Northern Brands International, a unit of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., pleads guilty to charges of smuggling. They are fined $5,000,000 and ordered to pay $10,000,000 to the US Treasury Asset Forfeiture Fund.
23 December 1998 The Lithuanian Parliament votes to abolish the death penalty.
Former NATO Secretary General Willy Claes and eleven others are convicted by Belgium’s Cour de Cassation in a bribery scandal. They all receive suspended sentences.
25 December 1998 Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea surrender to Cambodian authorities.
28 December 1998 US warplanes attack a SAM battery near Mosul after it fired at them.
30 December 1998 US warplanes attack a SAM battery in the southern “no fly” zone of Iraq after it fired at them.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
25 July 2012
Last Updated (Wednesday, 25 July 2012 05:08)