September 2000 News and Events

Updated July 10, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

World

Burmese Opposition Leader under House Arrest (Sept. 4): Government and police shut down activities of National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Move follows nine-day roadside standoff between Suu Kyi and military.
UN Conference Ends (Sept. 8): World leaders move to agree on goals and common values.
OPEC Agrees on Production Increase (Sept. 10): Under world pressure, members will increase crude oil output by 800,000 barrels daily.
Palestinian Statehood Postponed (Sept. 10): Leadership assembly in Gaza City calls off Sept. 13 announcement of Palestinian statehood.
South Korean Says U.S. Troops Must Stay (Sept. 10): President Kim Dae Jung hails agreement with North that Americans prevent perilous vacuum on Korean peninsula.
High Fuel Prices Spark Protest in Europe (Sept. 11): Truck drivers, farm workers, and taxi drivers blockade oil refineries and cut off deliveries to thousands of gasoline stations.
Iraq Bars Independent Scrutiny (Sept. 11): UN head Kofi Annan reports nation will not admit outside experts to study living conditions ten years after economic conditions imposed.
EU Ends Sanctions against Austria (Sept. 12): Lifts restrictions imposed after far-right Freedom Party joined government. Vows to closely monitor party activities.
Gazans Riot on Statehood Deadline (Sept. 13): Power struggle erupts as date passes without peace or a state.
U.S. Moves to Revive Mideast Peace Talks (Sept. 14): Seeks action at informal New York meeting, but Secretary of State Albright is doubtful of progress.
Debt Relief Planned for Poor Nations (Sept. 16): Financial leaders of wealthy nations promise campaign to double number of poor countries given debt relief.
U.S. Opposes Laser Sale by Russia (Sept. 18): Asks President Putin to halt plans to sell Iran technology that can be used to make fuel for nuclear weapons.
Cuban Plane Crashes in Gulf of Mexico (Sept. 19): One dead, nine rescued from small craft. Cuban government says plane was hijacked from western province.
Blast Damages British Spy Headquarters (Sept. 20): Explosion goes off in London's M.I.6 intelligence building. No casualties reported.
Iran Court Cuts Sentences for Jews (Sept. 21): Appeals bench reduces terms of 10 who had been convicted of cooperating with Israel.
Central Banks Act to Save Euro (Sept. 22): European, American, and Japanese institutions seek to bolster Europe's unified currency to combat what they regard as a threat to world economy.
Separation of Twins Approved (Sept. 22): British Court of Appeal rules that doctors can operate on pair joined at birth. Procedure would sacrifice one to save the other.
Yugoslav Opposition Claims Victory (Sept. 25): Supporters of Vojislav Kostunica say he leads President Slobodan Milosevic in presidential election. (Sept. 28): Milosevic government calls for runoff election.
Danish Voters Reject Euro (Sept. 26): Block move to join Europe's common currency in first popular test. Vote threatens already fragile monetary experiment and rejects rapid European political integration.
Charges against Netanyahu Dropped (Sept. 27): Israeli attorney general says no grounds to prosecute former prime minister on corruption charges.
Palestinians and Israelis Clash (Sept. 30): At least 12 Palestinians killed and hundreds wounded on the third day of fighting set off by visit of right-wing Israeli leader Ariel Sharon to mosque in Jerusalem's Old City.

Nation

House Upholds Marriage Penalty Bill Veto (Sept. 13): Republicans fail to override president's rejection.
President Delays New Import Duties (Sept. 13): Holds up new punitive actions on luxury European goods.
Los Alamos Scientist Released (Sept. 13): Wen Ho Lee, accused of stealing sensitive nuclear weapons data, freed after serving nine months in prison, mostly in solitary confinement. Pleads guilty to one count of mishandling classified nuclear information. (Sept. 14): President Clinton criticizes Justice Department and F.B.I. for handling of case against Wen Ho Lee.
Census Trend Reversed (Sept. 19): Officials report 67 percent of households completed and returned census forms in 2000, compared to 65 percent in 1990.
Senate Approves China Trade Bill (Sept. 19): Votes, 83–15, in favor of broadening trade with China, giving President Clinton historic foreign policy victory. Measure, approved by House in May, ends annual congressional review of China's trade status.
Whitewater Inquiry Ends (Sept. 20): Special Prosecutor Robert W. Ray reports no evidence in six-year investigation that either President or Mrs. Clinton had committed crimes.
Death Penalty Trend Reported (Sept. 21): Government statistics show states without death penalty since Supreme Court upheld it have not had higher homicide rates than states with death penalty.
Release of Some Reserve Oil Approved (Sept. 22): Clinton orders 30 million barrels to offset rise in fuel costs.
Senate Approves Aid for Everglades (Sept. 25): Overwhelmingly passes $7.8 billion plan to restore ecosystem in Florida.
Abortion Pill Wins U.S. Approval (Sept. 28): Food and Drug Administration announces acceptance of marketing of drug, milfepristone, or RU-486, a prescription drug that is first alternative to surgical abortion approved in U.S.

Business/Science/Society

Indiana U. Coach Dismissed (Sept. 10): Bob Knight fired for repeated abuse of student players and staff of basketball teams.
Ford Was Aware of Engine Defect (Sept. 11): Company documents show knowledge of safety hazard despite dismissal of thousands of car owners' complaints.
California Enacts Generous College Aid Plan (Sept. 11): Needy high school students with good grades guaranteed grants for full tuition at state's public institutions and nearly $10,000 a year toward tuition at one of state's private institutions.
Violent Entertainment Targeted at Youth (Sept. 11): F.T.C. report condemns “pervasive and aggressive marketing” of best-selling restricted movies, music, and video games to children as young as 12.
Selma Chooses Black for Mayor (Sept. 12): In historic election, Joseph J. Smitherman, former segregationist, loses after 35 years as mayor of Alabama city during turbulent era of South. Electorate supports James Perkins Jr., former computer consultant
New Rudder Controls for Boeing 737 (Sept. 13): F.A.A. to order replacement of system on world's most widely used airliner. Safety improvements still needed.
Olympic Games Open in Australia (Sept. 15): Air of reconciliation marks 27th summer games in Sydney. Host nation reaches out to native people, who were long a target of discrimination.
Six Scientists Honored for Research (Sept. 16): Win Albert Lasker medical awards. Two were cited for work that helped virtually eliminate risk of transmitting hepatitis viruses through blood transfusions.
$80 Million Gift for Smithsonian (Sept. 18): California philanthropist plans record donation to modernize National Museum of American History
Los Angeles Accepts Police Changes (Sept. 20): Agrees to federal court plan to head off threatened civil rights lawsuit over what Justice Department has called pattern of abusive conduct by police officers.
Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns (Sept. 20): Ends mission that brought three tons of equipment to newly equipped International Space Station.
40 States Forfeit Health Care Funds (Sept. 23): Will lose hundreds of millions in federal money supposed to provide insurance for children in poor families.
North Texas Gets Rain After 84 Days (Sept. 24): Light showers officially end record dry spell.
Drug Fights Multiple Sclerosis (Sept. 25): Scientists find disease can be delayed in patients at risk and severity reduced by injections of Avonex, also called interferon.
Gene Linked to Adult Diabetes Identified (Sept. 26): Isolated by scientists in study of Mexican-Americans in Texas county with heavy burden of type 2 of disease.