9+9 Mind Blowing Historical Facts From '99

In the year 1999,

• The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafes.
• King Hussein of Jordan dies from cancer, and his son Abdullah II inherits the throne.
• While trying to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being aloft for 233 hours and 55 minutes.
• Columbine High School massacre: Two Littleton, Colorado teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, open fire on their teachers and classmates, killing 12 students and 1 teacher, and then themselves.
• After 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo de Vinci’s The Last Supper is placed back on display in Milan, Italy.
• Napster, a music downloading service, debuts.
• After decades of fighting off outside technological influences like television, the King of Bhutan allows television transmissions to commence in the Kingdom for the first time, coinciding with the King's Silver Jubilee (see Bhutan Broadcasting Service).
• Texas Governor George W. Bush announces he will seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.
• Apple Computer releases the first iBook.
• Vajpayee makes a goodwill visit to Pakistan on the maiden trip of a cross-border bus service.
• India recaptures Kargil, forcing the Pakistan Army to retreat. India announces victory, ending the 2-month conflict.
• The first version of MSN Messenger is released by Microsoft.
• Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France.
• The People's Republic of China launches the first Shenzhou spacecraft.
• Helen Clark becoming the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history.
• After rowing for 81 days and 2,962 nautical miles (5486 km), Tori Murden becomes the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by rowboat alone, when she reaches Guadeloupe from the Canary Islands
• Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President.
• Heavily armed hijackers take over an Indian Airlines Airbus carrying 189 people from Kathmandu (Nepal) to New Delhi. After a detour to the United Arab Emirates, it lands at Kandahar, Afghanistan, on December 25. On December 28 the hijackers make three demands, including the release of 35 terrorists and a sum of $200 million. On December 31 the hijackers, who stabbed a man on the plane to death, free their hostages after reaching agreement with India for the release of three terrorists in Kashmir.