World Snow and cold kill at least 30 per cent of the world's 30-60 million monarch butterflies at their wintering grounds in mountainous western Mexico.

Egypt Following President Mubarak's party's win in the December elections, a new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri is sworn in. It includes the country's first female minister for the economy, Nawal el-Tatawi.

Liberia According to aid workers, about 15,000 people fleeing renewed fighting in north-western Liberia are threatened with starvation. The clashes are between rebels of Roosevelt Johnson's Ulimo faction and the multi-national West African peacekeeping force deployed to enforce the ceasefire between Ulimo and the forces of Charles Taylor.

Mexico Rafael Sebastian Guillen - a former university teacher identified as Subcomandante Marcos a year ago - attends a forum on indigenous rights convened by his Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). The forum's demands include indigenous control over local economies, justice, internal security and the restoration of common land.

Sri Lanka The Colombo Government dismisses the UN Secretary-General's offer of assistance for 400,000 refugees who are living in the open during the monsoon.

Turkey The 550 new Members of Parliament take office. The Refah Party, which wants an Islamic republic, is now Turkey's largest party with 158 out of 550 seats.

Guatemala Pro-business candidate Alvaro Arzu wins the Guatemalan presidential election.

Chechnya Heavily armed Chechen separatists take civilians hostage in a hospital in Dagestan and hold them for nearly a week in the village of Pervomiaskoye. Russia unleashes a blizzard of rockets on the village, killing dozens but still failing to capture everyone. The Council of Europe admits Russia as a member despite the blitzing of Chechnya.

Sudan For the first time since 1991, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) led by John Garang launches a successful offensive, recapturing a swathe of territory in Eastern Equatoria. The 13-year-old civil war has claimed the lives of an estimated 1.3 million southerners.

India bans the misuse of ultrasound and amniocentesis to determine the sex of a foetus, in an attempt to limit deliberate abortions of girls - an offence which will now carry a heavy fine or a three-year jail term.

Brazil is widely criticized for changing its indigenous land-rights policy to give squatters as well as local authorities the right to challenge reserve areas and claim compensation. The move will put 344 out of 554 Indian reserves up for grabs.

Multinationals Labour organizations from more than 20 countries launch a campaign to unionize workers at Toys R Us chains around the world.

Burundi An estimated 7,000 people, some suffering from malnutrition or wounds caused by landmines, flee to neighbouring Zaire to escape fighting between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. There are now more than 100,000 Burundian refugees in Zaire. At least 15,000 Rwandan and Burundian refugees enter Tanzania, fleeing fighting in Burundi; Tanzania eventually closes its border. Despite widespread fears of a looming civil war in Burundi, separate US and UN proposals for international military intervention are blocked by France and other countries.

Lesotho King Moshoeshoe II, aged 57, is killed in a car accident less than two years after regaining the throne.

Iraq offers to renew talks with the UN on selling limited amounts of oil to buy food for its suffering population. UN experts estimate that 4 million Iraqis (out of a total 20 million) face starvation.

Kenya/Uganda The feuding neighbours are publicly reconciled when their leaders pledge to work together and revive the East African Economic Community.

Cambodia Government troops and Khmer Rouge guerrillas clash near the Thai border in the heaviest fighting for six months.

Vietnam clears the names of a further 9,000 boat people for repatriation from Hong Kong; there are still 37,000 Vietnamese refugees in camps around Asia. Beijing is keen for the 21,000 refugees in Hong Kong to be repatriated before it regains control from the British in 1997.

World A week-long conference on landmines ends without agreement.

Palestine Israel frees 800 Palestinians in an effort to boost PLO leader Yasser Arafat just before the first Palestinian elections. Arafat becomes the first-ever elected leader of the Palestinians following elections held in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Arafat's Fatah party wins 60 per cent of the seats in the new Palestinian parliament.

Lebanon After a 13-year break, the Beirut stock exchange, once the Middle East's busiest, resumes trading.

North Korea 130,000 face starvation due to floods that have left many people homeless and substantially reduced crop yields.

Russia Russia's Foreign Minister, Andrei Kozyrev, admired in the West but reviled at home by conservatives, resigns.

Nigeria The oil multinational, Shell, admits importing arms for the police. Some 35,000 people still await trial in Nigeria&s prisons.

Niger The President is deposed as soldiers under Colonel Ibrahim Bar& Mainassara and his National Salvation Council seize control.

Afghanistan The Red Cross airlifts 1,000 tonnes of food aid to the besieged Afghan capital of Kabul, where more than a million people face starvation.

Sri Lanka The financial centre of the capital Colombo is devastated by a suicide-truck bomb that kills 72 people and wounds 1,500. The Tamil Tigers claim responsibility. Government forces massacre the inhabitants of Kumarapuram, killing at least 24 Tamils.

Nigeria 19 Ogonis - jailed for allegedly participating in the same murders for which Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other men were hanged in November - smuggle a letter out of prison pleading for the Commonwealth to secure their freedom. Epidemics of spinal meningitis, gastroenteritis and german measles kill at least 15,000 people in the north.

Haiti Former prime minister Rene Preval is installed as President of Haiti, marking the country's first-ever peaceful hand-over of power from one freely elected president to another.

Mexico Armed forces are brought in to remove protestors blocking 51 oil wells owned by the state oil company Pemex.

Philippines The nation is outraged as Sarah Balabagan, a Filipina maid, receives the 100 lashes dealt her by a United Arab Emirates court for killing the employer who raped her. She survives her punishment and is then offered thousands of dollars out of sympathy by a rich Filipino entrepreneur.

Iraq/Russia Russia signs agreements for 'giant' projects to extract crude oil in Iraq. This will help the country, which remains subject to UN economic sanctions, to rebuild its shattered power industry and infrastructure.

Britain A tanker runs aground off South Wales, leaking 70,000 tonnes of oil into a marine bird sanctuary before being towed to safety. 25,000 birds are killed by the 300-kilometre oil slick. Around 5,000 march against the construction of a road to bypass the town of Newbury.

India Seven Indian cabinet ministers quit after being implicated in a bribery scandle that threatens to overturn PM Narasimha Rao's Government.

MultinationalsWalt Disney is accused of having some of its brand-name clothes made in Third World sweatshops.

Israel Under intense pressure from the Israeli Government, Palestinian security forces arrest 120 members of Hamas after two suicide bombers kill 24 people and wound almost 100.

Cuba/US Cuba shoots down two private US planes, piloted by Cuban-Americans, that it claimed were in its airspace. President Clinton tightens sanctions.

Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema claims 99 per cent of the vote in a farcical presidential poll.

Cambodia Haing Ngor, who was tortured by the Khmer Rouge, escaped and went on to win an Oscar in the film The Killing Fields, is shot dead in Los Angeles.

China 100,000 people face starvation in blizzard-stricken Qinghai province.

Bosnia The Bosnian Government moves into the suburbs, secures the roads and declares the siege of Sarajevo officially over.

Chechnya Chechen rebels temporarily take back their capital, Grozny, more than a year after it was seized by Russian troops. Russian jets bomb villages in south-west Chechnya, while an estimated 10,000 refugees flee fighting in the Chechen town of Sernovodsk. More than 600 civilians are killed in fighting in the western village of Samashki.

Russia Boris Yeltsin gives peasants the right to buy and sell land for the first time since the Bolshevik Revolution.

Sierra Leone Violence disrupts the first multi-party elections for 20 years but they are won by Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone's People's Party.

Burundi The Clinton Administration in the US rejects calls for an arms embargo so as to prevent possible genocide.

Iraq The UN Security Council decides to maintain sanctions on Iraq for its failure to comply with UN resolutions on weapons. Iraq later stops UN inspectors examining a site near Baghdad.

Turkey Turkey's two centre-right parties sign a coalition deal to govern the country thus preventing the Islamic Welfare Party from forming a government. One of Turkey's most famous writers, Mesut Yilmaz, is given a suspended 20-month jail term for an article that allegedly 'backed Kurdish separatists and incited hatred' (see focus on the Kurds).

Britain Gays are officially banned from the military after a British court overrules a judgement by the European Court. The Government's decision to expel Saudi dissident Mohammed al-Mas'ari is overturned by a judge. The UN's racism committee expresses 'serious concern' over the deaths of black people in police custody in Britain.

Zambia The Paris Club, the Western creditors' forum, agrees to write off 67 per cent of Zambia's $550 million debt.

Israel/Palestine Israel imposes a curfew on the 800,000 Palestinians who live on the West Bank after the fourth suicide bomb in nine days kills 12 Israelis in the heart of Tel Aviv. The border between Israel and the West Bank is sealed off with tanks. Under intense Israeli pressure Yasser Arafat has arrested 600 Hamas militants and taken control of Hamas-run mosques, schools and charities.

Bangladesh The Government of Begum Zia resigns (focus on Bangladesh).

Hong Kong 200 protesting Vietnamese refugees are taken from their camps to prison to await forced repatriation.

Liberia Heavy fighting breaks out in Kakata in the centre of the country, trapping 11 UN military observers. The civil war has killed 150,000 people in seven years.

Nigeria 3,386 people are killed by the meningitis epidemic in northern Nigeria. Almost 19,000 people are infected.

China/Taiwan In the build-up to Taiwan's first democratic presidential elections, China continues 20 months of scare tactics by conducting missile tests off Taiwan's coasts. With 150,000 Chinese troops massed on the mainland, the US sends two warships to patrol the area. 20,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei against China's war games. Finally Nationalist Party leader Lee Teng-hui is re-elected.

Indonesia Rioting in two mining towns in Irian Jaya/West Papua temporarily closes the US-owned Gasberg mine, one of the world's biggest sources of copper and gold. Three people are killed and 15 injured when troops are sent in to break up demonstrations against the mine.

US/CubaPresident Clinton signs into law the harshest-ever package of economic measures against Cuba.The 'Helms-Burton' law is aimed at inhibiting foreign investment in Cuba. Canada threatens action at the World Trade Organization.

Mexico Ruben Figueroa Alcocer, governor of Guerrero state, is forced to step down over the massacre last June by local police of 17 peasants.

Sri Lanka A Sri Lankan helicopter-gunship fires on a group of Tamil refugees in a camp 250 kilometres north of Colombo, killing at least 8 people and wounding 55.

Lebanon Hezbollah fighters fire on Israeli posts in Israeli-occupied south Lebanon in a show of scorn for the Anti-Terrorism Summit being held in Israel.

Zimbabwe Low voter turnout and the absence of any choice in Zimbabwe's presidential elections make President Robert Mugabe's victory a hollow one.

Iran The more traditionalist of the country's two right-wing parties wins the election.

Afghanistan The embattled President, Burhanuddin Rabbani, wins the backing of one of his main rivals, mujahedin faction-leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Benin Former dictator Mathieu Kerekou, the first African leader to be ousted at the ballot box in the democracy movement of the early 1990s, is returned to power in an upset at the polls, winning 59 per cent of the vote.

Sudan Supporters of the country's leader, Lieutenant-General Omar al-Bashir, sweep to power in the parliamentary elections.

Philippines More than 3,000 people are stranded in the central Philippines by a torrent of toxic mine waste which has poured into a river near their village.

Ukraine On the tenth anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster (focus on nuclear threat) the Ukraine reveals that its main hospital caring for the victims is now without heating because the once-elite clinic cannot afford to pay its energy bills

Lebanon/Israel In Operation Grapes of Wrath Israeli gunners respond to rocket attacks on northern Israel with an all-night assault on 15 Shia Muslim villages in south Lebanon, forcing hundreds of families to flee. When guerrillas continue to fire rockets, Israel responds by bombing Beirut and ordering 400,000 villagers to leave southern Lebanon or face air and artillery attack. Israel knocks out two of Lebanon's main power plants and fires 4,000 shells into the UN zone alone & one hits a UN base which had become a sanctuary for civilian refugees, killing 101 people. The UN claims the attack was deliberate.

Hong Kong Thousands of Hong Kong residents queue for British passports. This is their last chance before the colony is handed over to China in June 1997.

Zaire Hutu militias and Zairean soldiers launch a pogrom against Tutsis in Zaire, driving hundreds of refugees into Rwanda (focus on Zaire/Rwanda).

Liberia Aid agencies and diplomats are evacuated as fierce fighting between rival factions breaks out in the capital, Monrovia. More than 60,000 are left homeless. The conflict among seven rebel factions has killed 150,000 people in the West African nation and left at least half the country's 2.3 million people homeless.

Turkey 90 Kurdish rebels and 27 soldiers are killed in some of the bloodiest fighting in the 12-year separatist campaign. Backed by a new array of US Black Hawk and Cobra helicopters, the Turkish military sends thousands of troops to south-east Turkey to kill members of the Kurdish Workers' Party (focus on the Kurds).

Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga proclaims a nationwide state of emergency which gives her sweeping legal and military powers, and bans journalists from covering the war against the Tamil rebels. Tamil civilians in Thenmaratchi protest by forming a 30-kilometre human chain. Government forces launch an all-out attack on the area. Thousands of Tamils escape to India.

Chechnya Two battalions of Russian troops withdraw from Chechnya as part of Boris Yeltsin's peace plan. But the aid agency M&decins Sans FrontiDres witnesses Chechen women strapped to Russian tanks to prevent attacks, civilians forced to leave their dead behind, houses pillaged and burned, and villagers shot indiscriminately. At least 50,000 have been killed in just 15 months of fighting. Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev is killed.

Nigeria Hundreds of people demonstrate against the military government as a UN team tours the Ogoniland region to investigate the execution of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. Commonwealth nations agree to enforce a range of sanctions against the military regime.

Jordan US jets are for the first time to use bases in Jordan to enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. The arrival of 30 US fighters and over 1,000 airforce personnel marks a reversal of policy for Jordan.

South Korea On the eve of elections, 20,000 students rally in Seoul to mourn the death of a classmate they say was murdered by police. President Kim Young Sam's party stages a surprising recovery at the polls to hold on to power - voters opted for stability following North Korean intrusions into the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries.

Venezuela President Caldera announces a sweeping economic adjustment programme.

Germany The armed forces announce they are to abandon the use of anti-personnel mines.

Afghanistan More than 100 people are killed and 100,000 people hit by flooding brought on by heavy rains and melting snow.

Sierra Leone The new government signs an historic ceasefire with rebel forces after five years of fighting that has claimed at least 10,000 lives.

Uganda The West Bank Nile Front - a guerrilla group led by Colonel Juma Oris, a former aide of Idi Amin - creates chaos in the far north of the country. President Museveni sends troops to 'crush and finish the rebels'; they fail.

Israel Conservative Likud candidate Binyamin Netanyahu narrowly defeats Labour's Shimon Perez in the election.

Iraq The UN lets Iraq sell oil again - it says 50,000 children have died as a result of sanctions since the Gulf War.

Nigeria The UN posthumously elects Ogoni writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa to its environmental roll of honour. The meningitis epidemic that began in Nigeria has become the worst-ever outbreak in West Africa, infecting more than 100,000 people and killing over 10,000.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni is re-elected by a landslide. In northern Uganda, however, opposition candidate Paul Ssemogerere wins over 80 per cent of the vote.

South Africa A permanent post-apartheid constitution is adopted in South Africa. Thousands of strikers march through Johannesburg and Cape Town, protesting against the inclusion of a clause in the new constitution that enables employers to lock out striking workers.

Burma The Burmese military junta arrests 44 pro-democracy supporters. Despite the crackdown, 10,000 people attend a speech by democracy-movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

US/Cuba Canada and the European Union challenge US plans to impose sanctions against foreign companies that invest in Cuba. According to President Castro, the US blockade has cost Cuba $40 billion.

Central Africa A cholera epidemic breaks out in Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire and Sudan.

Liberia A ship carrying 4,000 Liberian refugees is allowed to land in Ghana. US warships defending their embassy move closer to shore as rival militias advance on each other.

Turkey As many as 40,000 Turkish soldiers take part in security sweeps against Kurdish separatists on either side of the Turkey-Iraq border (focus on the Kurds).

India Phoolan Devi, the low-caste 'Bandit Queen'& who was jailed for murdering the high-caste men who gang-raped her, is elected to Parliament for the state of Uttar Pradesh. The right-wing Hindu party, the BJP, emerges as the largest party nationally. Its leader Atul Vaijpai becomes temporary Prime Minister but cannot form a government. So Deve Gowda, head of a large coalition of secular parties, is sworn in as Prime Minister.

Multinationals European clothing retailer C&A is to change operations in an effort to end its use of sweated labour.

Sri Lanka Government forces occupy the Jaffna peninsula, stronghold of the Tamil Tigers.

Tibet/China Tibetan monks clash violently with Chinese police over tough new regulations banning display of photos of the Dalai Lama.

Venezuela Nearly 800,000 government workers go on strike in protest at the Government's failure to pay their salaries.

Albania Thousands of opposition-party supporters, protesting alleged ballot-rigging, demonstrate in the capital Tirana's central square where 300 are injured by riot police.

Hong Kong Around 40,000 people demonstrate to mark the seventh anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square Massacre.

South Africa Local government elections are held in Kwazulu Natal and are relatively free from the feared ANC-Inkatha violence. The ANC wins in most urban areas, and Inkatha in the villages. The country is meanwhile battling against the world's worst tuberculosis epidemic.

Burundi The Red Cross pulls out amidst increased killing.

Burma Despite a new ban on pro-democracy gatherings, 5,000 defy Burma's military junta and attend a major rally. It is revealed that child labour is being used to build the new road to Mandalay.

Indonesia Thousands demonstrate against the Government and in support of opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri - daughter of Sukarno, the charismatic figure who led the country until President Suharto's bloody coup in 1965. Troops are sent in to break up the demonstration, but Megawati supporters start a riot.

Cuba Canada decides to go ahead with investments in Cuba despite the threat of US sanctions. The Cuban Government announces plans to create its first Free Trade Zone.

Angola The Prime Minister is fired by President Dos Santos.

Albania As a result of the demonstrations, a re-vote is held. But the ruling party wins again anyway.

Turkey As Turkey sends yet more troops and helicopters into Iraq to hunt down Kurdish rebels, 2,000 Kurds in Turkish prisons go on hunger strike (focus on the Kurds). The fragile coalition holding the Turkish Government together collapses.

World The UN Conference on Human Settlements meets in Istanbul for 12 days but becomes mired in generalities. It says large-scale urban problems must be addressed at the local level and not by national governments and international organizations, which many see as an admission of defeat. Meanwhile homeworkers achieve a major victory in the struggle to have their rights protected as the ILO signs its first-ever convention on homeworking.

Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League defeats Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in the election (focus on Bangladesh).

Papua New Guinea After an eight-year battle, campaigning indigenous villagers win a major victory when one of the world's largest mining conglomerates, Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary, agrees to compensate them to the tune of millions of dollars for destroying their land and polluting their water supplies with copper and gold mining waste.

China China has executed 1,000 people in the last two months as part of a massive crackdown on crime. Most are tried in public meetings - attended by 1.75 million people - and their sentences applauded by cheering crowds.

Bosnia The War-Crimes Tribunal indicts Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for atrocities committed during the war in Bosnia. Karadzic is forced to resign as head of his party to save it being banned from the elections.

Chechnya The war in Chechnya continues, with Russian planes shelling villages and thousands of Chechen civilians dying.

Afghanistan Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of one of the warring mujahideen factions, becomes Prime Minister.

Israel The new conservative Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, announces massive budget cuts in education and social services, lifts restrictions on West Bank settlement by Israelis and introduces new laws disallowing visting rights for Palestinian prisoners. Israel continues to bomb Lebanon.

Iraq A coup attempt against Saddam Hussein fails.

Britain/Indonesia In a landmark legal judgment four women peace campaigners are cleared of charges related to the $2.5 million worth of damage they did by attacking a Hawk fighter with hammers. The jet was one of 24 due for export to the military government in Indonesia. The women argued that the plane would be used to reinforce repression in East Timor and would thus flout both UN policy and international and British legislation against genocide.

South Africa Nelson Mandela announces he won't run for a second presidential term.

Sudan Around 700,000 people face starvation because the Government has banned food aid.

Burundi After heavy fighting, Tutsi troops stage a coup, murder the Hutu president and take control.

Burma ASEAN countries grant Burma 'observer status' and force the EU to drop its plans for sanctions. But the pro-democracy movement has a victory when Carlsberg drops its plans to establish a brewery in Burma. The European owners of Heineken decide to follow suit, selling their shares in Heineken's Burmese brewery; but Heineken's Singapore partners quickly buy up the shares.

Sri Lanka The Tamil Tigers capture the Mullaitivu military base, killing 1,200 Sinhalese soldiers. The Government responds with a major offensive against the town of Kilinochchi, most of which is destroyed by artillery barrage.

Colombia The US Government revokes President Samper's visa because of his failure to assist in the 'war against drugs'.

Honduras Chiquita Bananas crack down on demonstrating workers.

Bangladesh Floods submerge a third of the country, forcing millions to flee their homes and killing 130.

Mexico Attacks by masked and armed groups on villages and towns in the state of Guerrero lead to reports of a new peasant guerrilla movement.

World Climate scientists gather for a major conference on global warming.

Mongolia Liberals win the elections with a 90-per-cent turn-out.

Russia Boris Yeltsin is re-elected as President.

Ecuador Populist candidate Abdala Bucaram wins the presidential elections, beating the candidate advocating 'market reforms'.

Bosnia Muslims and Croats finally bury their differences and agree to run a joint council in Mostar. But violence in the lead-up to general elections causes scores of opposition candidates to drop out of the race.

Chechnya Chechen separatists launch a massive offensive against Russian troops. Thousands flee Grozny in fear of a Russian attack. The Russian Vice-President, General Lebed, brokers a peace deal and a ceasefire is signed.

Tajikistan Fierce fighting breaks out between warring factions.

South Korea Former president Chun Doo-Hwan is sentenced to death and his successor Roh Tae-woo jailed for 22 years for leading a coup and taking bribes.

Israel/Palestine Huge strikes are held in Palestine in protest against the Israeli Government's announcement that hundreds of new homes will be built on the West Bank for Israeli settlers - a blatant breach of the peace agreement. Yasser Arafat bans the books of US-based Palestinian writer and intellectual Edward Said for being critical of him.

Jordan Riots break out over a dramatic hike in bread prices.

Iran The US launches air sorties over Iran because of Iranian aggression towards Kurds in Iraq (focus on the Kurds). Iran signs a $20-billion gas deal with Turkey.

South Africa During his trial by the Truth Commission, former president De Klerk finally accepts responsibility for human-rights violations.In a show of strength, 5,000 anti-drug vigilantes march through the streets of Johannesburg, protesting at the Government's inability to control drug-related crimes. Police break up the demonstration with tear gas.

Algeria Around 80 people are massacred by the Muslim extremist party, the FIS.

Burundi In the wake of the Tutsi coup, neighbouring Tanzania tightens sanctions, while Kenya cuts off diplomatic relations with the country. Some 6,000 Hutu civilians are reported to have been killed during the coup, which led 8,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees to flee Burundi.

Zimbabwe Around 5,000 civil servants go on strike in Zimbabwe because they are being paid so little.

Sri Lanka Over 200,000 people are displaced by fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tigers. Around 800 people flee to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Indonesia As East Timor marks 20 years of occupation, the Indonesian Government intensifies its crackdown on opposition supporters in Java. Opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri is questioned by police about her role in the July riots and 123 people are held in jail. There is a new outbreak of anti-government rioting in the capital, Jakarta - and British-made tanks and water guns are used to break them up. Megawati files charges against the Government in court.

Mexico A gathering of over 3,000 Zapatista supporters from around the world reaches its climax in La Realidad, Chiapas. Called the First Intercontinental Meeting Against Neoliberalism and for Humanity & or the Encuentro for short & it has brought together people from a wide variety of social backgrounds and political affiliations.

China 16,000 people in Inner Mongolia are placed under quarantine by the Government due to a severe outbreak of cholera that has killed 120.

SomaliaFollowing the death of militia leader Mohammed Farah Aideed, his son Hussein Aideed is chosen to succeed him as 'President'.

Afghanistan Kabul falls to the Taliban, an army led by former theological students who favour a particularly extreme form of Islamic law. Among its first acts are to hang the former President, Mohammed Najibullah, and to make it illegal for women to work, condemning thousands of widows and their children to starvation. Male Afghan government employees are ordered to grow beards or else face punishment.

Bosnia The election passes relatively peacefully though the results are bitterly contested. Muslim President Alija Izbetbegovic is the poll winner.

Chechnya Following Russia's acceptance of a peace plan, Chechen separatists celebrate what they see as 'victory' in the war, and form a congress to govern Chechnya.

Russia President Yeltsin names a new, reformist cabinet.

Israel/Palestine The opening of an archeological tunnel beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, sparks off violent riots. Four people are shot and 200 wounded in a gun battle between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Hundreds are shot and at least a dozen killed as Palestinian youths besiege an Israeli garrison.

Iraq/Kurds The US fires cruise missiles at southern Iraq in response to Iraqi-backed Kurdish attacks on UN-backed Kurds. Iraq backs down as US air raids intensify (focus on the Kurds).

Turkey/Kurds Thousands of Turkish troops shell Kurds in the south-east and attack them in their UN-designated safe area in Iraq. The UN announces that the Kurdish enclave is in danger of famine.

Lesotho Police open fire on 2,000 strikers, killing 10.

Sudan Rioting breaks out in the capital Khartoum over bread shortages and a rise in food prices.

Rwanda Hutu troops begin terrorizing Rwandan Tutsi refugees in Zaire. Rwandan troops shell eastern Zaire (focus on Zaire/Rwanda).

Indonesia Opposition leader Megawati &s court case against the Government is rejected.

Colombia The Vice President resigns, then 3.7 kilos of heroin are found in President Samper's jet.

Mexico The new PRA guerrillas continue to battle against the military in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. The Army steps up its retaliation.

United States The CIA is accused of cocaine trafficking. Press stories allege that during the US-backed war on Sandinista Nicaragua cocaine was smuggled out in CIA-protected planes, sold on US streets by CIA-protected drug dealers and the money then funnelled back to the Contras so they could buy weapons.

World The IMF reneges on a plan to sell $2 billion of its $40 billion gold reserves to ease Third World debt but promises the Paris Club it will cut debt for poor nations somehow. The World Health Organization launches a new global campaign against epilepsy.

Armenia After the ruling party once again wins the general elections, there are widespread accusations of vote-rigging.

Estonia becomes the first country to 'graduate' from the USAID programme.

Zaire/Rwanda Fighting breaks out between the Zairean Army and the Tutsi minority in the east of the country. Thousands of Hutu refugees leave their camps arousing worldwide fears of a humanitarian catastrophe on the scale of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and its aftermath (focus on Zaire/Rwanda).

Aotearoa/New Zealand The country's first general election held using proportional representation produces no overall winner but doubles the number of Maori Members of Parliament to 15.

Bosnia The newly elected joint presidents meet in Sarajevo for the first time since the elections, but Bosnian Serb politicians boycott the inauguration of the new parliament. Bosnia and Serbia agree in Paris to establish full diplomatic relations. A massive $425 million US arms shipment arrives for the Muslim-Croat federation forces.

Pakistan Benazir Bhutto announces that she will deal positively with the Taliban Government in Afghanistan but denies having helped them in their military campaign. Thousands call for Bhutto to resign as foreign reserves plunge.

Colombia A remote Andean tribe threatens mass suicide if oil companies start drilling in their region. Food prices in the capital rise by ten per cent when BogotD is cut off by guerrilla blockades. Around 200 soldiers and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been killed in the last few weeks during the bloodiest guerrilla offensive in the 30-year history of the Colombian civil war.

World The World Bank donates $500m to its new fund to cut poor nations' debt. The UN's imminent financial collapse is staved off by payments from Russia and funds from the US congress. Costa Rica, Japan, Kenya, Portugal and Swedan are elected to the 15-member UN Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1997.

Burma The military junta announces that it has detained 500 supporters of the pro-democracy movement; the movement's leader Aung San Suu Kyi claims that the number arrested is actually 800. Burmese people face tough jail sentences even for using the Internet. Total Oil is accused of condoning large-scale human-rights violations during the building of its natural-gas pipeline from Burma to Thailand.

Afghanistan The Taliban capture a strategic base in the north of the country. General Rashid Dostrum drops his neutrality and allies himself with the anti-Taliban forces led by General Massoud. The two forces clash repeatedly during the next two weeks, as Massoud fights his way to within 20 kilometres of Kabul. It is announced that 600,000 Afghanis have been disabled by landmines in the last ten years.

Indonesia condemns the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Roman Catholic Bishop Belo for his campaigning to end the conflict in East Timor and bans the other prize-winner, Jose Ramos Horta, from entering the country (1996 awards).

Israel/Palestine A US-convened emergency summit fails to patch up the peace agreement between Israel and Palestine.

Mexico The Zapatistas challenge the Mexican Government to hold peace talks. The elections of mayors and congresspeople in Guerrero state go peacefully despite recent clashes between PRA guerrillas and the military.

India The largest pro-India party in the embattled state of Kashmir wins a sweeping majority in the first local elections since the revolt began in 1990. India's United Front Government reimposes central rule on the state of Uttar Pradesh after the Hindu BJP and its secular opponents fail to form a coalition. Heavy rain and flooding kill 113 and leave thousands homeless in the south of the country.

Bangladesh Shahbuddin Ahmed is sworn in as Bangladesh's fourteenth president - though under the new constitution real power lies with the prime minister.

South Africa General Magnus Malan, the former Defence Minister, is acquitted of conspiracy to murder. However, Colonel Eugene De Kock, commander of apartheid South Africa's notorious Vlakplass police hit-squad, is found guilty on 89 charges, including 6 murders, and sentenced to more than 200 years in prison.

Multinationals BP is accused of collaborating with Colombian death squads and of causing grave damage to the environment.

Zimbabwe The number of people dying each week from AIDS jumps from 300 to 500.

Cambodia Hundreds of hardline Khmer Rouge guerrillas defect to Cambodian government forces.

Africa According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 13 African countries face food shortages despite bumper harvests.

Liberia Thousands of starving villagers ask for an end to food aid because it attracts warring guerrilla factions.

Turkey plans to spend $150 billion on the military over the next 30 years - roughly double current expenditure on what is already the second largest force in NATO. Turkish troops kill 250 Kurds in a new offensive in the south (focus on the Kurds). Amnesty International singles Turkey out for its human-rights record. 'Today we are saying enough is enough,' says Amnesty head Pierre Sane.

Vietnam bans most foreign employees of joint-venture and wholly foreign-owned companies from working in the country for more than three years. It also passes a law requiring foreign companies to train local replacements for their foreign staff.

Russia President Yeltsin sacks General Lebed, his Chief of Security, for 'disruption'.

Nicaragua Conservative candidate Arnoldo Aleman wins the presidential elections, defeating Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega.

Algeria Muslim fundamentalists slaughter 31 people. At least 50,000 people have been killed in Algeria by Islamic extremist groups since 1991. The Government holds a referendum on a new constitution. Despite threats by the Islamic Armed Group (IAG) that people who voted for the new constitution would have their necks wrung, 55 per cent of the electorate, or eight million people, do so.

Russia President Boris Yeltsin successfully undergoes open- heart surgery.

Nigeria On the anniversary of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa's execution, the European Union agrees to extend its sanctions against Nigeria for a further six months.

India Around 1,000 people are killed by a cyclone in the Indian state of Andrha Pradesh. Meanwhile in Bangalore 600 people are arrested for protesting against the Miss World contest: the contest has sparked off huge demonstrations and has had to be protected by 20,000 police.

United States Bill Clinton wins a second term as US President.

Burma A 200-strong mob, allegedly acting with the approval of the Burmese military, attacks cars carrying Aung San Suu Kyi and several of her key supporters.

Belgium Greenpeace boats block the first shipment of genetically altered soyabeans from landing at the harbour in Ghent. The soyabeans have been genetically engineered to survive massive applications of the pesticide Round-Up, which Greenpeace argues will encourage unwise pesticide usage. Many people have already had allergic reactions after eating the soyabeans.

Afghanistan Around 45,000 people flee renewed fighting north of Kabul as the Taliban and opposition forces exchange tank, artillery and rocket fire.

World The UN Food Summit convenes in Rome, attended by 194 nations - although only 50 of these countries are represented by their heads of government (focus on World Food Summit).

Uganda Tension increases in Central Africa region as Uganda accuses Zaire of invading its territory and attacking a border post.

Cambodia The IMF and World Bank suspend $47 million in aid, citing continuing concern over government logging policies that are rapidly decimating the country's forests.

Thailand The New Aspiration Party of former army chief Chavalit Yongchaiyudh wins the general election, but a six-party coalition will govern the country. The election followed the ousting of a corrupt government in September and proved to be the dirtiest in Thai history: politicians handed out more than a billion dollars to buy votes.

Belarus Demonstrators clash with police in the capital, Minsk. They are among thousands protesting at President Lukashenko's attempt to gain control of parliament and the higher courts and to extend his term by two years through a referendum. But his new sweeping powers are endorsed by the referendum - and with his first use of them he closes down the opposition-dominated parliament.

Zambia President Frederick Chiluba is easily re-elected amidst widespread accusations of vote-buying; the opposition boycotted the election.

United Arab Emirates bans marriage between UAE nationals and foreigners.

Burundi Hundreds of Hutu refugees, forced home by the fighting in eastern Zaire, are butchered by the Tutsi army in Burundi.

Pakistan The government of Benazir Bhutto is sacked by President Farooq Leghari on the grounds of gross incompetence and corruption. Bhutto faces criminal charges in court. President Leghari also closes the national assembly and sets new elections for February 1997. Former cricketer Imran Khan's party will contest the elections.

Serbia President Slobodan Milosevic attempts to annul opposition victories in the Belgrade city elections - and sparks the largest anti-government protests since the outbreak of war in former Yugoslavia in 1991, involving 100,000 demonstrators at their peak. Milosevic refuses to back down.

Aotearoa/New Zealand The conservative National Party manages to form a coalition government with the tiny New Zealand First Party, whose Maori leader, Winston Peters becomes Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for finance. The charismatic Peters is seen by many as potentially the first Maori Prime Minister.

Uganda Ugandan troops occupy parts of north-eastern Zaire in pursuit of rebels who allegedly have their bases there.

China/India For the first time since China invaded India and occupied Tibet in 1950, the two Asian giants agree to scale down armed forces along their 2,500 mile border.

Britain Massive annual increases in the levels of radioactive materials are discovered in seafood as a result of new discharges from the nuclear-power plant at Sellafield.

Palestine Palestinians take to the streets to protest against the Israeli Government&s refusal to release political prisoners as agreed in the peace accord. A new settlement project is agreed near the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Burma The leaders of ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, send a strong message that they will not tolerate foreign criticism of their human-rights records by confirming that Burma will be granted full membership. Meanwhile at least 2,000 Burmese University students stage the largest demonstrations in Rangoon since 1988 to protest at police brutality.

Belize British aid money to build a road in the remote south of Belize threatens to bring about the wholesale clearance of Central America's largest intact area of rainforest and start a battle with the region's Mayan Indians, whose communal lands are being taken over.

Moldova In the country's first parliamentary elections, Petru Lucinschi is elected President.

Serbia Milosevic temporarily shuts down Belgrade's last independent broadcaster Radio B92 in an attempt to suppress dissent. Up to 50,000 people continue to demonstrate in the capital.

Russia President Boris Yeltsin fires General Vladimir Semyonov, commander of Russia's land forces, for 'actions incompatible with his post'. Meanwhile an estimated 400,000 miners throughout Russia begin an open-ended strike to protest at the fact that they have not been paid for several months.

World Ghana's Kofi Annan is appointed as UN Secretary-General to replace Boutros Boutros Ghali.

Iraq Signs agreements with international oil companies keen to buy Iraqi crude under a resurrected UN oil-for-food plan.

Guatemala The adversaries in Guatemala's civil war sign sign a peace pact ending the 36-year-long conflict that claimed 140,000 lives.

Colombia A rightwing paramilitary group kills 84 people including a pregnant woman.

United States President Clinton names Madeleine Albright, a Czech-born refugee, as the US's first female Secretary of State.

Tanzania The Government repatriates 500,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees.

Iran Three people are killed when hundreds of demonstrators clash with the police in western Iran. The demonstrators ware protesting against the alleged murder of a Sunni Muslim leader by government agents.

India 5,000 people are detained by the Indian police for protesting against the imprisonment of Jayalalitha, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, on corruption charges.

Ecuador President Abdala Bucaram does a U-turn on his promises to aid the poor and appoints some of the country's richest men as advisers.

Sierra Leone More than 150 people are killed less than a day after President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah signs a peace accord with the leader of the Revolutionary United Front, to end five years of civil war.

South Africa President Nelson Mandela signs South Africa's new abortion bill, replacing one of the world's toughest abortion laws with one of the most liberal.

Tajikistan President Imamali Rakhmonov signs a cease-fire with Islamic opposition leader Sayid Abdullo Nuri.

Bangladesh India and Bangladesh finally reach an agreement on sharing the waters of the Ganges River, settling a 20-year-old dispute.

Peru Guerrillas of the Tupac Amaru group, dressed as waiters, bearing caviar and champagne, take hundreds hostage at a reception in the Japanese Ambassador's residence in Lima. They demand the release of 500 political prisoners and improved jail conditions.

South Korea Riots erupt in the capital, Seoul, as thousands of people protest against the Government&s attempt torestrict trade unions and labour rights.