1999 January 1
Member nations of the European Union adopt the "euro" as their common currency.
1999 February
The village of Arnoun is seized by Israeli troops. Israel denies expansion of its so-called security zone and complains of guerrilla attacks launched from Arnoun against its outpost at the former Crusader castle of Beaufort.
1999 April 19
The Republic of China-Swaziland Conference on Economic and technological cooperation opens in Taipei.
1999 April 19
Jeffrey Koo, chairman of the Taipei-based Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, says that if Beijing bullies Taiwanese doing business in mainland China, it will hurt both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
1999 May 12
Yeltsin sacks cabinet, including Primakov.
1999 May 13
Impeachment hearings begin in the Russian Duma.
1999 May 15
An impeachment vote held against Boris Yeltsin fails.
1999 May 19
The Duma approves Sergei Stepashin as Russia's new prime minister.
1999 May 27
A U.N. tribunal indicts Slobodan Milosevic for crimes against humanity, holding the Yugoslav president personally responsible for the bloody horrors in Kosovo.
1999 May 29
Space shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.
1999 May 31
The South Lebanese Army, Israel's client militia in occupied south Lebanon, announces the first withdrawal from the "security zone" since it took its current shape in 1985. The decision to withdraw follows an electoral pledge by the new Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, to get Israeli troops out of Lebanon within a year.
1999 May 31
The treason trial of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan opens in Turkey. He is convicted and sentenced to death.
1999 June 3
Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic accepts a peace plan for Kosovo designed to end the mass expulsions of ethnic Albanians and 11 weeks of NATO airstrikes.
1999 June 10
Yugoslavian troops depart Kosovo, prompting NATO to suspend its punishing 78-day air war against the Serbs.
1999 June 12
Thousands of NATO peacekeeping troops pours into Kosovo by air and land. In a surprise move, a Russian armored column enters Pristina before dawn to a hero's welcome from Serbian residents.
1999 June 16
Vice President Al Gore announces his candidacy for the 2000 Democratic presidential nomination.
1999 June 18
Israel's prime minister-elect, Ehud Barak, announces an audacious plan to link the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip and the West Bank with an enormous bridge. The four-lane elevated road would stretch 25 miles (47km) to provide safe passage for Palestinians - allowing Israel to avoid dedicating a land corridor for this purpose.
1999 June 19
Britain's Prince Edward marries commoner Sophie Rhys-Jones in Windsor, England.
1999 June 20
As the last of 40,000 Yugoslav troops leave Kosovo, NATO declares a formal end to its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.
1999 July 5
The new Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, ends seven weeks of political limbo with an effusive speech in praise of peace at the swearing-in of his cabinet, drawn from a relatively dovish coalition.
1999 July 21
Ehud Barak carries his message of peace to London, where he has talks with Tony Blair. Hopes are rising that Israel may open negotiations with Syria, as well as with the Palestinians and possibly the Lebanese.
1999 July 27
The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, begin talks to determine both the spirit and the pace of the rekindled Middle East peace process. Their first working session comes some two months after Mr Barak was elected in a drive to bring a more pragmatic Israel back to the negotiating table.
1999 August 9
Stepashin dismissed as prime minister of Russia.
1999 August 16
Vladimir Putin is confirmed as prime minister of Russia.
1999 August 30
Residents of East Timor vote for independence from Indonesia in a UN-sponsored ballot.
