Events, Verisoph

c. June 1997 The Project for the New American Century is founded 0 cit. William Kristol and Robert Kagan establish the Project for the New American Century, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington. It called for American global leadership backed by higher military spending and a willingness to confront hostile regimes. Kristol chaired the group, which stayed small but was closely tied to prominent Republican figures. diplomacy / politics ●●●

3 June 1997 The Statement of Principles and its signatories 0 cit. PNAC publishes its founding Statement of Principles, calling for higher defense budgets, a challenge to regimes hostile to American interests, and a foreign policy of strength. Its twenty-five signatories included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush, I. Lewis Libby, Francis Fukuyama, Zalmay Khalilzad, and Dan Quayle. Many would soon hold senior posts in government. diplomacy / politics ●●●●

November 1997 A banking crisis leaves zombie banks and firms 0 cit. The crash saddled banks with huge bad loans backed by land that was now worth far less. In late 1997 Hokkaido Takushoku Bank and Yamaichi Securities failed, and the Long-Term Credit Bank was nationalized the next year. Weak banks kept lending to insolvent borrowers to hide losses, creating zombie banks and firms that starved healthy business of credit. economy ●●●●

June 1997 Reno v. ACLU protects speech on the internet 0 cit. The Supreme Court struck down the anti-indecency parts of the Communications Decency Act, ruling that the internet deserves the highest free-speech protection. It set the terms for how online speech and pornography would be regulated. ●●

December 1997 Kibaki becomes Leader of the Official Opposition 1 cit. In 1997 Kibaki again ran for president on the Democratic Party ticket, came second to Moi, and then became Leader of the Official Opposition. The role gave him a formal national platform against KANU during Moi's last term, including criticism of corruption and calls for constitutional overhaul. politics ●●●●

1997 Uhuru enters KANU branch politics in Gatundu 1 cit. In 1997 Uhuru Kenyatta was elected chairman of his local KANU branch in Gatundu. It was a modest formal office, but it placed him inside the old ruling-party machine while Daniel arap Moi was managing the final years of KANU power. The event begins the shift from family businessman to Moi-backed national politician. politics ●●●

1997 Lake Turkana National Parks enter the World Heritage list 5 cit. UNESCO listed Lake Turkana National Parks as World Heritage for fossil deposits, ecological importance and the lake landscape. The listing made Turkana globally visible as natural and human-origins heritage, while local people still faced marginalisation in services, water and development. environment / science ●●●

2 August 1998 to 30 June 2003 Second Congo War wikidata 0 cit. war in Africa ●●●●

1998 Bank of Japan independence and creation of the FSA ai_extracted 1 cit. In 1998 monetary policy was placed in the hands of the newly independent Bank of Japan, and financial-sector regulation was given to the new independent Financial Services Agency, ending the Ministry of Finance's dominance. ●●●●

15 June 1998 Yen collapses to nearly 147 per dollar ai_extracted 1 cit. Amid the renewed slump of 1997-1998, the yen collapsed to nearly 147 to the dollar on June 15, 1998, about 80 percent weaker than its April 1995 peak, and was read as a sign of capital flight. ●●●

March 1998 BoJ sharply boosts credit creation ai_extracted 1 cit. In March 1998 the Bank of Japan suddenly boosted credit creation to its highest level since January 1974, which was followed by the sharp economic recovery and stock market rise of 1999 before the taps were turned off again. ●●●

April 1998 New Bank of Japan Law makes the BoJ independent ai_extracted 1 cit. The new BoJ Law took effect in April 1998, stripping the Ministry of Finance of the power to set monetary policy and making the Bank of Japan legally fully independent. ●●●●

1998 Ministry of Finance stripped of its powers ai_extracted 1 cit. In 1998 MoF lost its monopoly on budgeting, control over banking supervision to an independent financial supervisory authority, its licensing power through the Big Bang deregulation, and monetary policy to the independent BoJ. ●●●●

1998 Fukui resigns with Governor Matsushita ai_extracted 1 cit. Toshihiko Fukui, appointed deputy governor in December 1994 as long planned, had to resign together with Governor Matsushita in early 1998, after which he vied to succeed interim Governor Hayami. ●●

1998 Prosecutors raid the Ministry of Finance ai_extracted 1 cit. In early 1998, public prosecutors raided the Ministry of Finance for the first time, amid scandals, arrests of senior bureaucrats, and public demonstrations against the ministry. ●●●

June 1998 Financial Supervisory Authority opens and closes LTCB and NCB ai_extracted 1 cit. Bank supervision was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the new independent Financial Supervisory Authority, which began business in June 1998 by closing the LTCB and NCB banks. ●●●

April 1998 Big Bang begins with foreign exchange deregulation ai_extracted 1 cit. Japan's Big Bang financial deregulation started in April 1998 with the liberalization of the foreign exchange law, symbolically ending the war economy that the foreign exchange laws of the 1930s had begun. ●●●●

31 March 1998 Bank of Japan begins rapid money creation ai_extracted 1 cit. On 31 March 1998 the Bank of Japan suddenly began creating money at the fastest rate in a quarter century, one day before the new Bank of Japan Law took effect granting it legal independence; the injections drove the yen to 147 per dollar in mid-1998 and produced a surprise recovery in 1999. ●●●

1998 Bank of Korea reflates sharply ai_extracted 1 cit. In mid-1998 the Bank of Korea increased credit creation by the largest amount in twenty-five years, and Korean growth expanded sharply in the first quarter of 1999 with double-digit industrial production gains by mid-1999. ●●

17 August 1998 Russia defaults on domestic debt ai_extracted 1 cit. On August 17, 1998, Russia defaulted on its domestic debt as the Asian crisis spread to other emerging markets, with Brazil soon teetering on the verge of collapse. ●●●●

September 1998 Mahathir imposes capital controls in Malaysia ai_extracted 1 cit. In September 1998 Malaysian leader Mohammad Mahathir imposed controls on short-term capital movements, stabilizing the exchange rate while the central bank stepped up credit creation and the government cleaned up bank balance sheets without IMF-style reforms. ●●●

September 1998 New York Fed organizes LTCM bailout ai_extracted 1 cit. At the end of September 1998, New York Fed chairman William McDonough summoned the heads of major Wall Street and European banks and organized a cartel-like bailout of the failing hedge fund LTCM, averting a full-blown default. ●●●

April 1998 Bank of Japan stops publishing sectoral loan data ai_extracted 1 cit. In April 1998, upon gaining legal independence, the Bank of Japan stopped publishing the monthly sectoral bank loan data it had compiled since 1942 as the basis of its window guidance credit allocation. ●●

September 1998 Call rate lowered to near zero ai_extracted 1 cit. In September 1998 the overnight call rate was lowered to about 0.3 percent while ten-year government bond yields dropped to 0.7 percent, sparking debate that interest rate policy had reached its limit. ●●

1998 Bank of Japan granted independence ai_extracted 1 cit. In 1998 the Bank of Japan was granted independence in its operational and policy goals from the elected government, making externally imposed policy targets hard to implement. ●●●

1998 Big Bang financial deregulation begins ai_extracted 1 cit. A sweeping financial sector deregulation program known as the Big Bang began in Japan in 1998 as part of the Hashimoto reforms. ●●●

1998 Japanese suicides peak amid recession ai_extracted 1 cit. Suicides in Japan rose to 31,755 in 1998, a rise linked by observers to the recession. ●●

1998 Hayami becomes BoJ governor after 1998 resignation scandal ai_extracted 1 cit. Masaru Hayami stepped in as Bank of Japan governor in early 1998 after deputy governor Fukui and governor Matsushita resigned over a scandal. ●●●

10 April 1998 Good Friday Agreement 0 cit. Agreement between the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland parties ending three decades of the Troubles, establishing power-sharing and the principle of consent. It was approved by referendums on both sides of the border. diplomacy / politics / war ●●●

17 July 1998 Rome Statute 0 cit. Treaty establishing the International Criminal Court to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It created the first permanent international criminal tribunal. diplomacy / politics / society ●●●●

30 September 1998 Founding of ICANN 0 cit. no story The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is incorporated in California to manage the internet's domain name system and address allocation, taking over functions previously run under US government contract. diplomacy / technology ●●●

6 May 1998 to 18 June 2000 Eritrean-Ethiopian War 0 cit. no story Eritrea and Ethiopia fight a trench war over a disputed border town, killing tens of thousands. A cold standoff follows until the 2018 peace agreement. war ●●●

28 February 1998 to 11 June 1999 Kosovo War 0 cit. no story The Kosovo Liberation Army fights Serbian forces whose ethnic cleansing prompts a 78-day NATO bombing campaign. Serbia withdraws and Kosovo comes under UN administration, declaring independence in 2008. politics / war ●●●

1 June 1998 Founding of the European Central Bank 0 cit. The ECB is established in Frankfurt to run monetary policy for the coming single currency, launched in 1999. It becomes the central bank for the euro, the money of some twenty European countries. economy / politics ●●●●●

4 September 1998 Founding of Google 0 cit. Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporate Google in a Menlo Park garage. Its PageRank search engine and advertising model make it the gateway to the web and one of history's most profitable companies. economy / technology ●●●●

11 November 1998 Founding of Tencent 0 cit. Pony Ma and partners found Tencent in Shenzhen, launching the QQ messenger. Its WeChat super-app and games business make it China's most valuable technology company. economy / technology ●●●●

11 May 1998 Pokhran-II tests 0 cit. India detonates five devices at Pokhran, including a claimed thermonuclear design, and declares itself a nuclear weapons state. The tests end 24 years of restraint and provoke sanctions and a Pakistani response within weeks. politics / war ●●●●

28 May 1998 Chagai-I, Pakistan's first nuclear tests 0 cit. Pakistan detonates five devices in the Ras Koh Hills two weeks after India's tests, becoming the seventh declared nuclear power. The subcontinent's rivalry is now openly nuclear on both sides. politics / war ●●●●

7 August 1998 1998 US embassy bombing in Nairobi 6 cit. Al-Qaeda detonated a truck bomb outside the United States embassy in Nairobi, killing about 213 people and wounding thousands. The attack brought Osama bin Laden to global prominence and reshaped US counterterrorism policy. politics / war ●●●●

7 August 1998 1998 US embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam 0 cit. Minutes after the Nairobi attack, a coordinated Al-Qaeda truck bomb struck the United States embassy in Dar es Salaam, killing 11 people and injuring dozens. politics / war ●●●

15 August 1998 Omagh bombing 0 cit. A car bomb planted by the Real IRA killed 29 people in the town of Omagh. It was the deadliest single attack of the Northern Ireland conflict and came months after the Good Friday Agreement. politics / war ●●●

1998 Web search 0 cit. Google launched a search engine that ranked pages by their links, making the growing web usefully searchable. Fast, relevant search became the main way people find information online. technology ●●●

4 September 1998 Google founded 0 cit. Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporated Google on 4 September 1998. Its search engine became the main gateway to online information and a dominant force in digital advertising. economy / technology ●●●●

17 August 1998 1998 Russian Financial Default 0 cit. Russia defaulted on its debt and devalued the ruble amid falling oil prices and fiscal strain. The crisis wiped out savings and deepened public anger at the reforms of the 1990s. economy / politics ●●●

c. 1998 Central bank independence becomes standard 0 cit. Through the late twentieth century many countries gave their central banks legal independence to set interest rates and target inflation without direct political control. The founding of the European Central Bank reflected this widely adopted model. economy / politics ●●●

1998 PayPal and online payments 0 cit. PayPal grew out of a startup founded in 1998 and let people send money by email, which made online commerce practical for individuals and small sellers. It became a leading way to pay on the early internet. economy / technology ●●●

8 October 1998 to 2007 The Nazi War Crimes disclosure opens intelligence files 0 cit. A US law required the declassification of records on Nazi war criminals, leading an interagency group to release millions of previously secret pages. The files revealed postwar recruitment of former Nazis by Western intelligence agencies. politics / war ●●●

c. 1998 Global Cabal and Reptilian Myths contested 0 cit. Some conspiracy theories claim a hidden cabal, sometimes described in fantastical or reptilian terms, secretly runs the world. These claims have no evidence and often repackage older antisemitic secret society tropes. culture / society ●●

17 August 1998 The Russian default 0 cit. Russia devalued the ruble and defaulted on domestic debt despite IMF support, deepening doubts about the Fund's crisis response. The episode also fed criticism that Western-backed shock reforms had fueled corruption and oligarchy. economy / politics ●●●

c. 1998 The one-size-fits-all critique 0 cit. Stiglitz and others charged that the IMF applied a standard austerity and liberalization template regardless of local conditions. Supporters replied that core principles of sound money and open markets apply broadly. economy / politics ●●●

c. 1998 The debate over whether conditionality worked 0 cit. Decades of studies reach mixed conclusions on whether Bank and Fund conditions improved growth and stability or deepened downturns. The evidence supports neither a clean success story nor a simple tale of harm. economy / politics ●●●

20 November 1998 First module of the space station launched 0 cit. The Russian-built Zarya module became the first piece of the International Space Station in orbit. Over the next decade the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada assembled the outpost. politics / science / technology ●●●●

November 1998 Scientology's Flag Service Organization is charged over McPherson's death 0 cit. Florida prosecutors indicted the church's Flag Service Organization on felony charges of abusing or neglecting a disabled adult and practicing medicine without a license. The charges were dropped in 2000 after the cause of death was reclassified. politics ●●●

8 October 1998 CIA Inspector General reports on Contra drug ties 0 cit. The CIA Inspector General's Hitz report found the agency had worked with Contra-related figures tied to drug trafficking and had not cut ties or reported them. It confirmed a pattern of tolerance rather than a single plot to sell drugs. politics / society ●●●●

16 October 1998 Pinochet arrested in London 0 cit. Augusto Pinochet was arrested in London on a Spanish warrant for human rights crimes, a landmark moment for international justice. He was later released on health grounds but faced charges in Chile. politics / society ●●●

c. 1998 China launches the Golden Shield Project 0 cit. China's Ministry of Public Security began the Golden Shield Project in 1998 to build a nationwide system of internet surveillance and filtering. The blocking side of the system became widely known as the Great Firewall. politics / technology ●●●●●

1998 IPv6 internet addressing standard formalized ai_extracted 1 cit. no story The IPv6 internet addressing standard was initially formalized in 1998, vastly expanding the pool of unique device addresses. Wood argues this makes the Internet of Things and remote control of appliances possible. ●●

1998 Zuckerman essay on the American economy in Foreign Affairs ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Gatto analyzes a June 1998 Foreign Affairs essay by Mortimer Zuckerman praising the American economy's structural lead, which Gatto attributes to attitudes trained by schooling. ●●

1998 Daniele Ganser begins researching Operation Gladio ai_extracted 1 cit. no story The book says that in 1998 Daniele Ganser chose Operation Gladio as a PhD topic and uncovered secret CIA- and NATO-linked armies across Europe. It uses his work to support its claims about hidden Western operations. ●●

1998 India tests a nuclear bomb ai_extracted 1 cit. no story India exploded a nuclear bomb, catching the CIA by surprise and remaking the global balance of power. It exposed a systemic breakdown in the agency's espionage and analysis. ●●

1998 East Africa embassy bombings ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Near-simultaneous truck bombs destroyed the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, killing hundreds including a young CIA officer. The attacks marked al Qaeda's escalating war on the United States. ●●

1998 Russia defaults and devalues the ruble ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Russia devalued the ruble and defaulted on its international loans, creating a financial crisis that spread globally and threatened major banks. ●●

1998 Bin Laden announces World Islamic Front for Jihad ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Bin Laden announces the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders on February 23, 1998 with Egyptian militant leaders including Ayman al-Zawahiri. ●●

1998 Richard Clarke named White House counterterrorism czar ai_extracted 1 cit. no story On May 22, 1998, President Clinton signs PDD-62 formally appointing Richard Clarke as the White House's new counterterrorism czar with unprecedented Cabinet-level authority. ●●

1998 US embassies bombed in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Al Qaeda suicide bombers attack US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998, killing 213 people in Nairobi and 11 in Dar es Salaam. ●●

1998 CIA's first secret plan to kidnap bin Laden ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Tarnak Farm had been the target of the CIA's first secret plan to kidnap bin Laden in 1998. ●●

1998 Al Qaeda Bombs U.S. Embassies in East Africa ai_extracted 2 cit. On August 7, 1998, Al Qaeda operatives under Osama bin Laden's direction bombed the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing over 200 people. ●●

November 1998 Russia and America build the space station together 0 cit. The old rivals join to build the International Space Station, with Russian and American modules linked in orbit. The programs born as Cold War weapons became a symbol of post-Cold-War cooperation. diplomacy / science ●●●

1998 NATO intervention in Kosovo ai_extracted 1 cit. no story As diplomatic negotiations at U.N. Security Council over Kosovo crisis unfolded in 1998, Russia refused authorization and American-led NATO intervened ●●

1998 Thomas was found shot to death in rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Thomas was found shot to death in his home on September 5, 1998. ●●

1998 He responded candidly with loyalty to his British counterpart, Bohr adds: “F als rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story He responded candidly with loyalty to his British counterpart, Bohr adds: “F also informed B that as soon as the question had been brought up, the President had said it was a matter for Prime Minister Churchill and himself to find the best ways of handling the project to the benefit of all mankind, and that he should heartily welcome any suggestion to this purpose from the Prime Minister.”1998 The President would be happy to discuss new ideas for postwar relations, but the British would first have to convince the P.M.; Roosevelt would not deal behind Churchill’s back. ●●

1998 1998: In August 1998 Cheriton suggested to Page and Brin that they... rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story company with one such investor, Andy Bechtolsheim, which they had sold to Cisco Systems. In August 1998 Cheriton suggested to Page and Brin that they meet with Bechtolsheim, who had also cofounded Sun ●●

1998 1998: In September 1998, one month after they met with Bechtolshei... rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story at the Menlo Park house of a Stanford friend, Susan Wojcicki, who soon joined Google. In September 1998, one month after they met with Bechtolsheim, Page and Brin incorporated their company, opened a ●●

1998 1998: echtolsheim, which they had sold to Cisco Systems. In August 1998 Cher rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story echtolsheim, which they had sold to Cisco Systems. In August 1998 Cheriton suggested to Page and Brin that they meet with Bechtolsheim, who had also c ●●

1998 1998: rd friend, Susan Wojcicki, who soon joined Google. In September 1998, rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story rd friend, Susan Wojcicki, who soon joined Google. In September 1998, one month after they met with Bechtolsheim, Page and Brin incorporated their com ●●

1998 Event of 1998 rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story icy emphasizes the importance of frontiers even as it seeks to reconcile conflicting national aims. This dynamic has produced decades of sustained economic growth punctuated by periodic financial crises of seemingly escalating intensity: in Latin Ame ●●

1998 ession” ensues, with only a slight interruption in the early 1990s. rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story ession” ensues, with only a slight interruption in the early 1990s. 128. See, among others, Gerald Baker, “Is This Great, Or What?” Financial Times, March 31, 1998; Richard Stevenson, “The Wisdom to Let the Good Times Roll,” New York Times, December ●●

1998 When the leading members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) attempt... candidate ai_extracted 1 cit. no story When the leading members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) attempted in 1998 to push through in secret a Multilateral Agreement on Investment that would have protected further the rights of intern ●●

1998 Brin and Page present Google search paper ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their foundational paper on Google's search engine at the World Wide Web Conference. ●●

1998 Iceland creates first national DNA database ai_extracted 1 cit. no story every person’s profile should be added to the databank. Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani has urged that a DNA fingerprint be recorded for every American at birth.30 That day is coming. In 1998, Iceland created the world’s first national DNA database of its citizens. Almost all of its 275, ●●

1998 26. Report, 16 February 1998. “Privacy and Human rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story 26. Report, 16 February 1998. “Privacy and Human Rights 2002,” p. 83. Author’s interview with Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 3 March 2003. 27. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, “BNSF and EEOC Settle Genetic Testing Case Under Americans with Disabilities Act,” press release of 8 May 2002. Burling ●●

1998 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998); François Furet, Interpreting the French Revolution ( rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998); François Furet, Interpreting the French Revolution (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981). ●●

1998 Schultz and Robert Maranto, The Politics of Civil Service Reform (New York: Peter Lang, 1998), p. rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Schultz and Robert Maranto, The Politics of Civil Service Reform (New York: Peter Lang, 1998), p. ●●

1998 Osaghae, Crippled Giant: Nigeria Since Independence (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), p rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Osaghae, Crippled Giant: Nigeria Since Independence (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), pp. ●●

1998 Nathan, Peking Politics, 1918–1923: Factionalism and the Failure of Constitutionalism (Ann Arbor, MI rejected ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Nathan, Peking Politics, 1918–1923: Factionalism and the Failure of Constitutionalism (Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Chinese Studies, 1998), pp. ●●

1998 Page and Brin present the PageRank paper ai_extracted 1 cit. no story Page and Brin delivered 'The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine' at an Australian conference. ●●

1998 Bechtolsheim writes Google's first check ai_extracted 1 cit. no story After meeting Page and Brin, Bechtolsheim wrote a check that let them incorporate Google. ●●

December 1998 Global Witness report exposes the diamond trade's role in African wars 0 cit. The advocacy group Global Witness published 'A Rough Trade,' documenting how diamonds mined in rebel-held Angola were being sold through De Beers's buying network and financing UNITA's war effort. The report was widely credited with putting the term 'conflict diamonds' into public use and pressuring the industry toward reform. economy / war ●●

12 June 1998 UN Security Council bans purchase of UNITA diamonds 0 cit. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1173, prohibiting the direct or indirect import of diamonds from Angola not certified by the government, in an effort to cut off UNITA's main source of funding. It was one of the first international measures explicitly targeting conflict diamonds. diplomacy / war ●●

December 1998 Confinity founded 0 cit. Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek founded Confinity, a company built initially around cryptography for handheld devices. Confinity soon pivoted to a money-transfer product that became PayPal. economy / technology ●●

17 August 1998 Russian financial crisis and sovereign default 0 cit. The Russian government devalued the ruble and defaulted on its domestic debt, triggering a banking collapse and a further collapse in ordinary living standards. The crisis discredited the economic team associated with the 1990s reforms and deepened public disillusionment with the market transition and the businessmen who had prospered from it. economy ●●●

11 September 1998 Primakov appointed prime minister 0 cit. Yevgeny Primakov, a former foreign intelligence chief, became prime minister in the aftermath of the default, forming a government seen as less friendly to the oligarchs. He was dismissed by Yeltsin the following May, reportedly after launching anti-corruption inquiries that touched the president's inner circle. politics ●

25 July 1998 Putin appointed director of the FSB 0 cit. Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer who had worked in East Germany and later in the St. Petersburg mayor's office, was appointed head of the FSB, the Soviet KGB's main successor agency. The post gave him control over Russia's domestic security services and put him firmly inside Yeltsin's trusted circle. politics ●●

December 1998 The Salt Lake City bid bribery scandal breaks 0 cit. Reports reveal that Salt Lake City's bid committee gave IOC members cash, scholarships, medical care, and gifts worth over a million dollars to win the 2002 Winter Games. The scandal led to the expulsion or resignation of ten IOC members and forced the first major reform of Olympic bidding rules. economy / politics ●●●

c. February 1998 Government mandates Masonic membership declaration 0 cit. Following the Committee's recommendation, Home Secretary Jack Straw requires that new appointees to the judiciary, magistracy, police, and legally qualified staff of the Crown Prosecution Service, Probation Service, and Prison Service declare membership of Freemasonry as a condition of appointment. A subsequent government survey identifies at least 247 judges and 1,097 magistrates who declared Masonic membership. politics ●●●

c. February 1998 Government Mandates Masonic Membership Declaration for Judiciary and Police 0 cit. Home Secretary Jack Straw announced that new appointees to the judiciary, magistracy, police, Crown Prosecution Service legal staff, Probation Service, and Prison Service would have to declare Masonic membership as a condition of appointment, implementing the Home Affairs Committee's 1997 recommendation. A government survey later found roughly 5 percent of judges and 7 percent of magistrates had declared membership, while police compliance was markedly lower. Local councillors were not included in this requirement, which fed directly into the later debate about extending disclosure to local government. politics ●●

1998 Special Branch replaced by NSIS 0 cit. Parliament passed the National Security Intelligence Service Act, formally separating intelligence functions from the police and creating the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) as a distinct civilian agency reporting to the president. The reform was intended to professionalize intelligence work, though critics noted it did little on its own to end political surveillance practices inherited from the Special Branch era. politics ●

10 April 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement signed 0 cit. The British and Irish governments and most of Northern Ireland's political parties signed the Good Friday Agreement, establishing a power-sharing assembly, cross-border institutions, and a framework for policing and human rights reform. The agreement enshrined the principle that Northern Ireland's constitutional status could only change with the consent of a majority of its population. It is generally regarded as the foundational document of the Northern Ireland peace process. diplomacy / politics ●●●

22 May 1998 Good Friday Agreement referendums 0 cit. Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland approved the Good Friday Agreement in simultaneous referendums, with 71 percent support in Northern Ireland and 94 percent in the Republic. The Republic's vote also approved amending its constitution to remove its territorial claim over Northern Ireland. The results gave the agreement a strong democratic mandate on both sides of the border. politics / society ●●

29 October 1998 TRC hands first five volumes of final report to Mandela 0 cit. Archbishop Tutu handed the first five volumes of the TRC's final report to President Nelson Mandela. The report found the apartheid state, principally through its security forces, was responsible for the great majority of gross human rights violations, and also found the ANC and other liberation movements responsible for abuses, including of detainees in ANC camps. The report described apartheid itself as a crime against humanity. politics / society ●●●