The snow blizzard this month was one of the most devastating winter storms, causing more than 150 deaths. This as the last nuclear test explosion by France took place in the South Pacific.
Significant political developments dominated the month. In France François Mitterrand died in Paris at the age of 79 as the last nuclear test explosion by France was conducted at the Moruroa and Fangataufa Atoll test site in the South Pacific.
Also in Europe, the Czech Republic applied for membership of the European Union and Andreas Papandreou, the long-serving Prime Minister of Greece, officially resigned from his position due to significant health complications.
In the Middle East, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt appointed a new government in response to widespread allegations of corruption surrounding the parliamentary elections held in late 1995. Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
This as Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as King Hussein of Jordan visits their country. Yasser Arafat was re-elected as the president of the Palestinian Authority, solidifying his leadership role in Palestinian politics during a critical period of the Middle East peace process.
Elswhere, Józef Oleksy, the Polish Prime Minister, resigned from his position following serious accusations of spying for Moscow during a sensitive period in Poland's post-Communist transition.
Fifty people died and many more were injured in a suicide bombing in Sri Lanka by separatist Tamil Tigers, US peacekeepers poured into Bosnia, then Russian troops joined then in Bosnia as part of a joint operation with the US.
As mobile technology advanced, Motorola introduced the StarTAC, the first clamshell flip cell phone. Space Shuttle STS 72 (Endeavour 10), successfully launched into space.
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François Mitterrand died in Paris at the age of 79. Portuguese lawyer and politician, Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio became the 18th President of Portugal. The Czech Republic applied for membership of the European Union as the last nuclear test explosion by France was conducted at the Moruroa and Fangataufa Atoll test site in the South Pacific.
Other changes were forced by events and accusations of misdeeds. Andreas Papandreou, the long-serving Prime Minister of Greece, officially resigned from his position due to significant health complications.
Józef Oleksy, the Polish Prime Minister, resigned from his position following serious accusations of spying for Moscow during a sensitive period in Poland's post-Communist transition. The month's worst disaster was of La Fenice, Venice's world famous opera house, being destroyed by fire.
Further afield, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt appointed a new government in response to widespread allegations of corruption surrounding the parliamentary elections held in late 1995.
Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone. This as Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as King Hussein of Jordan visits their country.
Iraq agreed to talks concerning a U.N. plan to allow for the sale of $1 billion of oil for 90 days for a 180-day trial period.
Yasser Arafat was re-elected as the president of the Palestinian Authority, solidifying his leadership role in Palestinian politics during a critical period of the Middle East peace process. Commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet Scott Redd states that Iran test-fired a new anti-ship missile near the Strait of Hormuz.
Across the Atlantic, '3rd Rock from the Sun' was an influential American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner. Sun Microsystems publicly released the first version of the Java programming language, marking a significant milestone in software development.
This was rivalled by Motorola introducing the StarTAC, the first clamshell flip cell phone..
Space Shuttle STS 72 (Endeavour 10), successfully launched into space.
Tragically, a significant environmental disaster occurred when the tugboat Scandia experienced an engine fire, forcing it ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, spilling oil on Rhode Island.
Bill Clinton was serving as the 42nd President of the United States, leading the country during a period of economic growth and technological advancement
Elswhere, President Valentine Strasser of Sierra Leone was overthrown in a military coup by the chief of defence, Niger’s first democratically elected president was ousted in a military coup, and an army colonel took over as head of state, charging that the government was crippled by an “absurd crisis.
50 people die and many more were injured in a suicide bombing in Sri Lanka by separatist Tamil Tigers, US peacekeepers poured into Bosnia, then Russian troops joined then in Bosnia as part of a joint operation with the US.
During this sporting year, Toulouse won the 1996 Heineken Cup Final, Phil Taylor won the 1996 Vernons World Darts Championship in what was the third year that the Professional Darts Corporation (then known as the World Darts Council) held their own World Championships following an acrimonious split from the British Darts Organisation during 1992/93. Becker's achieved his very last Grand Slam Title. It was the last day of Test cricket for Australian cricketer David Boon
13th The song, One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey, finally reached number one song in the US and Earth Song by Michael Jackson was #1 song in the UK. On this date in 1995, Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” debuted at #1 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart and remained at the top during the holiday season all the way into the second week of 1996 – a six-week run at the top of the UK chart.