September 1999 News and Events

Updated July 10, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

1999 News Month-By-Month

World

  • NATO and U.N. Agree on K.L.A. Role (Sept. 2): Part of Kosovo Liberation Army will be allowed to survive as lightly armed civilian emergency force.
  • Middle East Peace Accord Announced (Sept. 4): Barak and Arafat plan to finalize borders between Israel and Palestinians by Feb. 15, 2000. Accord includes land-for-security agreement outlined in Wye Accord in fall of 1998. Brokered in presence of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
  • Militants Attack Caucasus Area (Sept. 5): Bomb wrecks apartment building in Dagestan housing Russian officers. Thirty killed and hundreds wounded. Attack is setback for Russian military forces.
  • Militia Attacks East Timor Citizens (Sept. 6): Backed by Indonesian military in burning homes, killing residents, and forcing thousands to flee to hills.
  • Israel Bans Force in Interrogations (Sept. 6): Supreme Court outlaws security forces' routine use of coercive measures, denounced by critics as torture.
  • Yeltsin Denies Corruption Charges (Sept. 8): Russian president assures Clinton that accusations against him and his family are politically motivated.
  • Explosions Kill Hundreds in Russia (Sept. 16): Fifth bombing in less than three weeks kills 18 in southern city, with more than 200 wounded. Almost 200 have died in series of explosions; authorities blame Islamic militants.
  • Clinton Sends Troops to East Timor (Sept. 16): Force of 200 will be responsible for intelligence, logistics, communication, and transport. (Sept. 20): U.N. force arrives and meets no resistance. Indonesian President had conceded that his forces had been unable to control violence in territory.
  • Chinese Communists Mark 50th Anniversary (Sept. 26): Invite more than 300 of world's leading capitalists to conference in Shanghai.
  • Thousands Flee Russian Bombing (Sept. 26): Driven from Chechnya by days of Russian bombing in war against Islamic militants. They appeal for relief.
  • Belgrade Demonstrators Blocked (Sept. 29): Police prevent 20,000 marchers from approaching suburb where President Milosevic lives.
  • Army to Investigate Korean War Massacre (Sept. 29): Opens new probe following Associated Press report that U.S. troops killed hundreds of civilians under South Korean bridge in 1950. Veterans' accounts of incident are conflicting.
  • Japan Experiences Its Worst Nuclear Accident (Sept. 30): 69 people exposed to high levels of radiation after workers accidentally trigger chain reaction at fuel plant. More than 160 nearby residents forced to evacuate homes.

Nation

  • Clintons Choose Post-White House Dwelling (Sept. 2): Sign contract to buy $1.7 million 11-room Dutch colonial home in Westchester County, N.Y., suburb. Location suggests run for U.S. Senate by first lady is likely.
  • Clinton Announces Gun Buyback Plan (Sept. 9): Seeks $15 million to purchase firearms from gun owners as move to fight gun violence.
  • Trade Deficit Rise Causes Alarm (Sept. 21): U.S. officials fear threat to dollar in continuing increase in imports. Stocks and bonds fall sharply.
  • Tobacco Industry Accused of Fraud (Sept. 22): Justice Department halts criminal investigation and files civil lawsuit accusing largest companies of conspiring to mislead public on smoking effects.
  • Inquiry on Nuclear Espionage Broadened (Sept. 22): Attorney General and F.B.I. order investigation of Chinese actions far beyond earlier U.S. scrutiny of scientist fired from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • House Votes Limit on Class-Action Suits (Sept. 23): Approves strict curbs on actions against tobacco companies, gun makers, and many other businesses.

Business/Science/Society

  • American Youth Convicted in Israel (Sept. 2): Tel Aviv judges find teenager, Samuel Sheinbein, guilty in Maryland slaying. He had fled to Israel to avoid prosecution. Plea agreement evaluated.
  • Media Cleared in Diana's Death (Sept. 3): French judge dismisses all charges in investigation of photographers' role in Paris crash that killed Princess.
  • Embezzlement Suspect Caught in Germany (Sept. 4): Four-month manhunt ends when F.B.I. tracks down 44-year-old money manager Martin Frankel. He is accused of embezzling more than $200 million.
  • Record Media Merger Planned (Sept. 7): Viacom Inc. announces it will acquire CBS corporation for $37.3 billion, creating second largest media company.
  • End to School Busing Where It Began (Sept. 10): Judges order Charlotte, N.C., to halt program, ruling that forced integration was no longer necessary. System had pioneered in practice 30 years previously.
  • Gunman Goes on Rampage in Texas Church (Sept. 15): Larry Gene Ashbrook, 47, opens fire on teenagers at Baptist service in Fort Worth. Assailant kills seven before shooting self as police officers arrive.
  • Hurricane Batters East Coast (Sept. 17 et seq.): Winds and flooding from storm Floyd cause wide havoc from Fla. to New England. Nine believed to have been killed. Three days after hurricane strikes N.C., almost two-thirds of state remains paralyzed.
  • Earthquake Rocks Taiwan (Sept. 21): Buildings toppled, trapping hundreds. (Sept. 22): Death toll more than 1,700. Rescuers work night and day to reach thousands under debris.
  • Mars-Orbiting Craft Destroyed (Sept. 23): $125 million robotic vehicle reported missing just before scheduled mission. Was first craft ever dispatched to check weather on planet. (Sept. 30): Embarrassed NASA says mistake caused by navigators who assumed figures provided by contractor were in metric units, when in fact they were English measurements.


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