The Year That Was 2000...

• New millennium begins amid celebrations – and fears of a worldwide computer crash that fails to materialise • On 18 March, in Kanungu in Uganda, 330 people (including 78 children), members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (a doomsday cult), die when the church in which they are singing and chanting is set alight. It appears later that they were murdered • On 3 April, after four months of unsuccessful talks between Microsoft and the US government, US District Judge T P Jackson rules that the company has violated US antitrust laws by using its monopoly power in personal computer operating systems to stifle competition • In June, Britain restores the Northern Ireland parliament, after the Irish Republican Army (IRA) agrees to disarm • On 25 July, a Concorde airplane crash near Paris kills 113 people • On 23 September, Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma's National League for Democracy, is put her under house arrest by the junta • On 5 October, following a nationwide uprising, Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic is voted out of office. Vojislav Kostunica becomes the new president. Milosevic is later arrested and, in June 2001, extradited to The Hague to stand trail on war crimes charges • On 8 November, in the US presidential election between George W Bush – son of former president George Bush – and Vice President Al Gore, there is no clear winner of the electoral college. Following an attempt at a recount in Florida (whose governor is Bush's brother Jeb) and many court hearings, Gore finally concedes defeat on 13 December • In Sierra Leone, a peace agreement signed in July 1999 collapses in May after the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) take more than 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF steps up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government a month earlier. At the end of the year, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers are protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 is helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army • On 26 June, after years of research, the human genome (or genetic code for the whole body) is deciphered. This feat is expected to revolutionise medicine •

Sporting 2000...

• Premier League Champions were Manchester United, leaving Arsenal in the runners up spot • Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 1-0 in the FA Cup Final thanks to a Roberto Di Matteo goal • The Grand National winning horse was ‘Papillon’ • The Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse was ‘Looks Like Trouble’ • The Epsom Derby winning horse was ‘Sinndar’ • Golf's British Open was won by Tiger Woods • Oxford won the Boat Race by three lengths over Cambridge • Snooker’s Embassy World Championship Final ended Mark Williams (Wales) 18-9 Matthew Stevens (Wales) • F1 Champion was Michael Schumacher driving for Ferrari • The Wimbledon tennis singles tournament saw victories for Pete Sampras of USA (mens) and Venus Williams of USA (ladies) • American Sport - Super Bowl XXXIV from the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia: St. Louis Rams 23-16 Tennessee Titans – NBA Championship: Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Indiana Pacers – Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees 4-1 New York Mets (MVP Derek Jeter) •