June 1999 News and Events

Updated July 10, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

1999 News Month-By-Month

World

European Union Plans Military Role (June 3): Will create command headquarters and forces of its own for peacekeeping and peacemaking missions.
African National Congress Wins Election (June 3): Gains second term in landslide victory. Thabo Mbeki, replacing retiring president Nelson Mandela, is expected to control more than two-thirds of Parliament.
Hong Kong Remembers Tiananmen Square (June 4): More than 70,000 gather for peaceful demonstration to mark massacre in Beijing ten years previously. It is only such observance to be held on Chinese soil.
Algerian Rebel Group Ends Struggle (June 6): Islamic Salvation Army abandons armed activities after 21–month cease-fire. Government grants amnesty to members.
15th Israeli Parliament Sworn In (June 7): One of most diverse in nation's history. 15 political parties represent varied groups, including Jews and Arabs, secular and ultra-Orthodox.
Pope Visits Native Poland (June 7 et seq.): John Paul II returns to native land for eighth time.
Serbs Agree to Leave Kosovo (June 9): Accept accord allowing military force under NATO command to occupy Kosovo. NATO officials reach tentative agreement with Liberation Army leaders for gradual disbanding of K.L.A. (June 10): NATO suspends bombing of Yugoslavia after 78th day, as Serbian troops begin to withdraw. (June 11): Allies taken by surprise as Russia, unhappy with its uncertain role in the peace plan, sends peacekeeping troops to Kosovo border. (June 18): After tense negotiations, U.S. and Russia sign agreement allowing Russian troops to integrate into NATO peace force.
China Sentences Former Official (June 10): Four-year prison term meted to Fang Jue, 44, businessman and former government planner accused of illegal business activities. He had called for political change.
Conservatives Gain Ground in Europe (June 13): Win votes to become majority in European Parliament. Result is a crushing defeat for center-left governments.
Refugees Begin Return to Kosovo (June 15): Thousands of ethnic Albanians enter through Albanian mountain pass controlled by NATO and Kosovo Liberation Army.
U.S. and Russia Agree to Cut Arms Threat (June 16): Pact extends, by seven years, programs to reduce threat from nuclear, biological, chemical, and other weapons of mass destruction.
Iran Arrests 13 Jews for Spying (June 17): Charges them with espionage for U.S. and Israel. Action is new focus in struggle between Iranian moderates and conservatives.
Antipoverty Loan for China Approved (June 24): World Bank overrules U.S. and backs $160 million for resettlement of 58,000 farmers in ethnically Tibetan area. Payment will be delayed until independent board reviews impact.
Turkish Court Dooms Kurdish Rebel Leader (June 29): Sentences Abdullah Ocalan to death for 15–year armed campaign against Turkish oppression. Worldwide reaction is quiet compared to massive protests that erupted after Ocalan's capture in Feb.
Coalition Government Formed in Israel (June 30): Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak ends six-week process in deal with ultra-Orthodox Shas Party. New government to be composed of seven parties with widely differing views.

Nation

Atomic Waste Storage Abandoned (June 1): Energy Dept. halts costly procedure used for storing millions of gallons of radioactive material. Sixteen–year project, which cost $489 million, was found to produce high levels of explosive benzene gas.
Senate Votes $265 Billion for Pentagon (June 8): Passes appropriations bill 93–4. It includes pay increase for military personnel and prohibits spending money on reconstruction of Serbia so long as President Slobodan Milosevic is in power.
Clinton Denounces Racial Profiling (June 9): Orders Federal law-enforcement agencies to collect data on race and ethnicity of people they question, search, or arrest, to determine role of skin color.
U.S. Adds Six China Sites to Check List (June 9): Commerce Dept. tells U.S. exporters that shipments to certain Chinese nuclear and missile centers will require Federal approval.
Discipline in Espionage Cases Delayed (June 9): Energy Secretary Bill Richardson dissatisfied with report on Los Alamos laboratory from which Chinese learned nuclear secrets. Orders new review.
Christian Coalition Suffers Setback (June 10): Conservative bulwark of Republican Party denied tax-exempt status because of political activities.
House Defeats Gun Control Bill (June 18): In 280–147 vote, rejects firearms restrictions that are weaker than legislation approved by Senate. Liberals, moderates, and conservatives join to block measure after bitter debate over causes of violence among American children.
Senate Approves Payment to U.N. (June 22): Votes 98–1 to authorize more than $800 million in back dues but reduces future U.S. contributions. Bill moves next to House.
President Outlines Plan for Surplus (June 28): Seeks to use budget excess to eliminate national debt and bolster Social Security and Medicare. Also leaves room for possibility of tax cuts.
Clinton Proposes Medicare Shake-Up (June 29): Calls for structural changes to meet new needs. Plan adds coverage of prescription drugs and would keep Medicare solvent 12 years longer than currently expected, until 2027.
Independent Counsel Law Dies (June 30): Decisions on ethics investigations of high officials left to Attorney General, who will decide when to appoint special counsels.

Business/Science/Society

Death Toll 12 in Alpine Tunnel Fire (June 2): Salvage workers recover bodies from tangled wreckage of multi-vehicle collision in Salzburg, Austria, tunnel.
U.S. and Canada Agree on Salmon Quotas (June 3): Seek to end long dispute. Comprehensive plan for thousands of miles along Pacific coast will include a conservation fund to help protect fish.
Russians Mark 200th Anniversary of Alexander Pushkin's Birth (June 5): Honor one of nation's most revered poets with performances and readings of his works, capping months-long celebration.
Two New Elements Added to Periodic Table (June 7): Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Calif. announce creation of elements with atomic numbers 118 and 116 in April by using cyclotron accelerator to hurl Krypton atoms at a lead target.
Theaters to Require Photo IDs (June 8): Heeding the President, movie houses across country agree to require teenagers to show identification before entering R-rated films without an adult. Move is an effort to curb youth violence that may be influenced by entertainment industry.
New Computer Infection Reported (June 10): Researchers say malicious worm virus is spreading through the Internet by email and destroying documents created by popular software programs.
Parisian Coin Dealer a Piano Champion (June 13): Joel Holoubek, 30, wins first International Piano Competition of Outstanding Amateurs at Fort Worth, Tex., after performing pieces by Ravel and Dutilleux.
Prince Edward Ties the Knot (June 19): Marries Sophie Rhys-Jones in relatively low-key ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Breast Implant Peril Denied (June 20): Panel of scientists finds no evidence that implants cause major illnesses in women.
A.M.A. Approves Union for Doctors (June 23): American Medical Association delegates vote to form organization to achieve equality with powerful managed-care health-maintenance groups.