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.