new internationalist

YUGOSLAVIA NATO begins bombing military targets as a result of Serbian ethnic cleansing in Kosovo (see Box: Kosovo).

ISRAEL / PALESTINE The Israeli Government continues to expand its settlement activity in the Palestinian West Bank, raising the number of Jews living there to 170,000, violating the Wye agreement and endangering the shaky Middle East peace process.

NORTH KOREA US inspections of a suspected nuclear-weapons site are allowed to proceed – this may be in return for the US pledge of 500,000 tonnes of food aid to the famine-afflicted country.

INDONESIA More than 100 ethnic Madurese in West Kalimantan are killed by warrior gangs of Malays and indigenous Dayaks. Madurese are scapegoats for local economic and land problems.

UGANDA Eight tourists are killed by Rwandan Hutu rebels on the Congo border in retaliation for British/US support of Rwanda’s minority Tutsi government.

IRAN Results from the country’s first local-government polls show a victory for reformists backing President Khatami.

ECUADOR The Government declares a state of emergency and closes its banks as the currency collapses and public workers lead a two-day anti-austerity strike.

INDIA / PAKISTAN Prisoners are exchanged for the first time since 1991.

MEXICO Zapatista rebels hold a nationwide referendum on their proposals for peace with the Government. More than 95 per cent of the ballots are in favour of the rebel group, but the referendum is marred by the political bias of the questions.

ISRAEL / JORDAN Israel plans to halve the annual water allocation which Jordan receives from shared sources, provoking fears of future drought.

EL SALVADOR Francisco Flores wins 52 per cent of the vote in the second presidential election since peace accords in 1992. He leads the Arena party, once linked to right-wing death squads.

AFGHANISTAN The Taliban militia agrees to share power with its northern enemies in a deal brokered by the UN. The Islamist militia has taken more than 80 per cent of the country since it marched into Kabul in 1996.