Editing 1995 (section)

==Events==
===January===
* [[January 1]]
** The [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) is established to replace the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT).
** [[Austria]], [[Finland]] and [[Sweden]] join the [[European Union]].
* [[January 9]] – [[Valeri Polyakov]] completes 366 days in space while aboard then ''[[Mir]]'' space station, breaking a duration record.<ref>{{cite book |author=A. W. Jones |title=Innovations in Astronomy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4xcbAQAAIAAJ |year=1999 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-114-4 |page=70}}</ref>
* [[January 10]]–[[January 15|15]] – The [[World Youth Day 1995]] festival is held in [[Manila|Manila, Philippines]], culminating in 5 million people gathering for John Paul II's concluding mass in [[Quirino Grandstand]].
* [[January 17]] – The 6.9  [[Great Hanshin earthquake]] strikes the southern [[Hyōgo Prefecture]] of Japan with a maximum [[Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale|Shindo]] of 7, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced.
* [[January 25]] – [[Norwegian rocket incident]]: A rocket launched from the space exploration centre at [[Andøya]], Norway, is briefly interpreted by the Russians as an incoming attack.
* [[January 31]] – [[Mexican peso crisis]]: U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] invokes emergency powers to extend a $20&nbsp;billion loan to help Mexico avert financial collapse.

===February===
* [[February 13]] &ndash; Twenty-one [[Bosnian Serb]] commanders are charged with [[genocide]] and [[crimes against humanity]] in the [[United Nations]]' [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]], a tribunal on [[human rights]] violations during the [[Yugoslav Wars|Wars in the Balkans]].<ref>{{cite book |title=International Legal Materials |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=34WaAAAAIAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=American Society of International Law |page=1725}}</ref>
* [[February 21]] &ndash; [[Steve Fossett]] lands in [[Leader, Saskatchewan]], Canada, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a [[Balloon (aeronautics)|balloon]].
* [[February 25]] &ndash; The [[Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization]] (ACTO) (Organización del Tratado de Cooperación Amazónica [OTCA]) is formed.
* [[February 26]] &ndash; The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking firm, [[Barings Bank]], collapses after securities broker [[Nick Leeson]] loses $1.4&nbsp;billion by [[speculation|speculating]] on the [[Tokyo Stock Exchange]].

===March===
* [[March 1]]
** [[Julio María Sanguinetti]] is sworn in as [[President of Uruguay]] for his second term.
** Polish Prime Minister [[Waldemar Pawlak]] resigns from Parliament and is replaced by ex-communist [[Józef Oleksy]].
* [[March 3]] &ndash; [[United Nations Operation in Somalia II]], the [[United Nations peacekeeping]] mission in Somalia, ends.
* [[March 14]] &ndash; Astronaut [[Norman Thagard]] becomes the first American to ride into space aboard a Russian launch vehicle (the ''[[Soyuz TM-21]]''), lifting off from the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] in [[Kazakhstan]].
* [[March 20]] &ndash; Members of the doomsday cult [[Aum Shinrikyo]] carry out the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]], killing 14 people and leading to over a thousand injured. The attack remains the deadliest terrorist incident in Japanese history.
* [[March 22]] &ndash; Cosmonaut [[Valeri Polyakov]] returns after setting a record for 438 days in [[outer space]].
* [[March 26]] &ndash; The [[Schengen Agreement]], easing cross-border travel, goes into effect in several European countries.
* [[March 31]] 
** [[Murder of Selena]]: [[Tejano music|Tejano]] singer [[Selena Quintanilla-Pérez]] is shot and killed by her fan club president [[Yolanda Saldívar]] at a [[Days Inn]] in [[Corpus Christi, Texas]].
** [[TAROM Flight 371]] from [[Bucharest]] to [[Brussels]] crashes shortly after takeoff killing all 60 people on board.

=== April ===
[[File:Oklahomacitybombing-DF-ST-98-01356.jpg|thumb|upright|[[April 19]]: A car bomb explodes outside a Federal building in [[Oklahoma City]], killing 168]]
* [[April 7]] &ndash; [[First Chechen War]]: [[Samashki massacre]] &ndash; Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of at least 250 civilians in [[Samashki]], [[Chechnya]].
* [[April 19]] &ndash; [[Oklahoma City bombing]]: 168 people, including eight federal Marshals and 19 children, are killed at the [[Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building]] and 680 are wounded by a bomb set off by [[Timothy McVeigh]].
* [[April 30]] &ndash; The United States government stops funding the [[NSFNET]], making the [[Internet]] a wholly privatized system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/nsfnet.htm |title=Cybertelecom :: NSFNET |work=cybertelecom.org |access-date=December 22, 2013 |archive-date=August 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825030617/http://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/nsfnet.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== May ===
* [[May 7]] &ndash; [[Jacques Chirac]] is elected president of France.
* [[May 10]] &ndash; The [[Vaal Reefs mining disaster]] at [[Vaal Reefs]] gold mine in [[Orkney, South Africa]]. A runaway locomotive falls into a lift shaft onto an ascending cage and causes it to plunge {{convert|1500|ft}} to the bottom of the {{convert|6900|ft}} deep shaft, killing 104.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.miningweekly.com/print-version/vaal-reefs-tragedy-commemorated-2005-05-10 |title=Vaal Reefs Tragedy Commemorated |publisher=Mining Weekly |date=10 May 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073934/http://www.miningweekly.com/print-version/vaal-reefs-tragedy-commemorated-2005-05-10 |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref name=indep>{{cite web |title=Locomotive crushes 105 gold miners |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/locomotive-crushes-105-gold-miners-1619145.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505110744/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/locomotive-crushes-105-gold-miners-1619145.html |url-status=live |archive-date=May 5, 2013 |work=The Independent |date=May 11, 1995 |access-date=August 27, 2014}}</ref>
* [[May 11]] &ndash; More than 170 countries agree to extend the [[Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty]] indefinitely and without conditions.
* [[May 13]] &ndash; The 6.6 {{M|w}} [[List of earthquakes in Greece|Western Macedonia earthquake]] strikes northwestern [[Greece]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of VIII (''Severe''), injuring 25 and causing $450&nbsp;million in damage.
* [[May 14]] &ndash; The [[Tenzin Gyatso|Dalai Lama]] proclaims 6-year-old [[Gedhun Choekyi Nyima]] as the 11th [[reincarnation]] of the [[Panchen Lama]], but 3 days later the boy is detained by Chinese authorities and not seen again.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4551425.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Tibet's missing spiritual guide |date=2005-05-16 |access-date=2023-05-14 |archive-date=September 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923100119/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4551425.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[May 16]] &ndash; Following the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]] two months earlier, Japanese police besiege the headquarters of [[Aum Shinrikyo]] near [[Mount Fuji]] and arrest cult leader [[Shoko Asahara]]. Further police operations result in over two hundred arrests and thirteen members of the cult, including Asahara, are sentenced to death.
* [[May 24]] &ndash; [[AFC Ajax]] wins the [[UEFA Champions League]] at the [[Ernst Happel Stadium]] in [[Vienna]] by defeating [[A.C. Milan]] 1–0.
* [[May 25]] – [[June 24]] – The [[1995 Rugby World Cup]] takes place in South Africa and is won by [[South Africa national rugby union team|the host nation]] after beating [[New Zealand national rugby union team|New Zealand]] in [[1995 Rugby World Cup final|the final]]; this was the Springboks tournament debut after [[World Rugby]] lifted their ban following the end of apartheid.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McRae |first=Donald  |date=27 October 2023 |title=Mandela, Lomu and a Rugby World Cup final that went beyond sport |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/27/mandela-lomu-and-a-rugby-world-cup-final-that-went-beyond-sport |access-date=16 March 2025 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>
* [[May 28]] &ndash; The 7.0 {{M|w}} [[1995 Neftegorsk earthquake|Neftegorsk earthquake]] strikes northern [[Sakhalin]] Island in Russia with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of IX (''Violent''), leaving 1,967 people dead and 750 injured.

===June===
* [[June 2]]
** A United States Air Force [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]] piloted by Captain [[Scott O'Grady]] is shot down over [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] while patrolling the [[NATO]] [[no-fly zone]]. O'Grady is rescued by [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] six days later.
** [[Waffen-SS]] [[Hauptsturmführer]] [[Erich Priebke]] is [[extradited]] from [[Argentina]] to [[Italy]].
* [[June 6]]
** U.S. astronaut [[Norman Thagard]] breaks [[NASA]]'s space endurance record of 14 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes, aboard the Russian space station ''[[Mir]]''.
** The [[Constitutional Court of South Africa]] abolishes [[capital punishment in South Africa]] in the case of ''[[S v Makwanyane and Another]]''.
* [[June 13]] &ndash; French President [[Jacques Chirac]] announces the resumption of nuclear tests in [[French Polynesia]].
* [[June 16]] &ndash; The IOC selects [[Salt Lake City]] to host the [[2002 Winter Olympics]].
* [[June 22]] &ndash; Japanese police rescue 365 hostages from a hijacked [[All Nippon Airways]] Flight 857 ([[Boeing 747-200]]) at Hakodate airport. The hijacker was armed with a knife and demanded the release of [[Shoko Asahara]].
* [[June 29]]
** English yachtswoman [[Lisa Clayton]] completes her 10-month solo [[circumnavigation]] from the Northern Hemisphere.
** ''[[STS-71]]'': [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'']] docks with the Russian ''Mir'' [[space station]] for the first time.
** [[Sampoong Department Store collapse]] in the Seocho-gu district of [[Seoul]], South Korea, kills 502 and injures 937.
** [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: According to UNSCOM, the unity of the U.N. Security Council begins to fray as a few countries, particularly France and Russia, become more interested in making financial deals with [[Iraq]] than in disarming the country.

===July===
[[File:Srebrenica Massacre - Exhumed Grave of Victims - Potocari 2007.jpg|thumb|Exhumed grave of victims of the July [[Srebrenica massacre]].]]
* July &ndash; [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: Iraq threatens to end all cooperation with UNSCOM and IAEA if sanctions against the country are not lifted by [[August 31]]. Following the defection of his son-in-law, [[Hussein Kamel al-Majid]], [[Saddam Hussein]] makes new revelations about the full extent of Iraq's biological and nuclear weapons programs. Iraq also withdraws its last U.N. declaration of prohibited biological weapons and turns over a large amount of new documents on its WMD programs.
* [[July 1]] &ndash; Iraq disarmament crisis: In response to UNSCOM's evidence, Iraq admits for first time the existence of an offensive biological weapons program, but denies weaponization.
* [[July 4]] &ndash; [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[John Major]] is [[1995 Conservative Party leadership election|re-elected]] as leader of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], ending an internal challenge to his position.
* [[July 9]] &ndash; [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]]: 125 civilians are [[Navaly church bombing|killed]] in [[Navaly]] as result of bombing by the [[Sri Lanka Air Force]].
* [[July 10]]
** Burmese dissident [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] is freed from house arrest.
** 42 CFR 84 is enacted, the [[NIOSH air filtration rating]]s update, and the [[N95 respirator]] becomes a standard.
* [[July 11]] 
** [[Srebrenica massacre]]: Units of the [[Army of Republika Srpska]], [[command responsibility|under the command]] of [[General officer|General]] [[Ratko Mladić]], enter [[Srebrenica]] with little resistance from Dutch [[peacekeeping|peacekeepers]] of the [[United Nations Protection Force]], going on to kill thousands of [[Bosniaks|Bosniak]] men and boys and [[rape]] many women.
** President Clinton announces the restoration of [[United States–Vietnam relations]] twenty years after the [[Vietnam War]].
** A [[Cubana de Aviación]] [[Antonov An-24]] crashes into the [[Caribbean]] off southeast [[Cuba]] killing 44 people.
[[File:Taiwan Strait.png|thumb|upright|The Taiwan Strait]]
* [[July 21]]&ndash;[[July 26|26]] &ndash; [[Third Taiwan Strait Crisis]]: The Chinese [[People's Liberation Army]] fires missiles into the waters north of [[Taiwan]].

=== August ===
* August &ndash; The [[International Rugby Football Board]] declares that [[rugby union]] players may be professional.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stubbs |first=Ray |title=The Sports Book |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4053-3697-0 |page=118}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History of the RFU |url=http://www.rfu.com/AboutTheRFU/History.aspx |work=[[Rugby Football Union|RFU]] |access-date=2019-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100422210444/http://www.rfu.com/AboutTheRFU/History.aspx |archive-date=2010-04-22}}</ref>
* [[August 4]] &ndash; [[Croatia]]n forces, with the cooperation of the [[Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|ARBiH]], launch [[Operation Storm]] against rebel forces of the [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]], which subsequently ceases to exist as a political entity.
*[[August 7]] &ndash; The Chilean government declares a [[state of emergency]] in the southern half of the country in response to an event of intense cold, wind, rain and snowfall known as the [[White Earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.armada.cl/armada/en-el-radar/la-armada-de-chile-a-25-anos-del-terremoto-blanco/2020-08-14/100532.html |title=La Armada de Chile a 25 años del "Terremoto Blanco" |date=2020-08-14 |access-date=2021-02-23 |website=armada.cl |publisher=[[Chilean Navy]] |language=Spanish |archive-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830173319/https://www.armada.cl/armada/en-el-radar/la-armada-de-chile-a-25-anos-del-terremoto-blanco/2020-08-14/100532.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[August 14]] &ndash; Nepali Prime Minister [[Man Mohan Adhikari]] along with seven other high-ranking officials survives a helicopter crash.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal's Prime Minister Survives Helicopter Crash |url=https://apnews.com/article/578736c800c1bc226629115404814fbd |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=AP NEWS |language=en |archive-date=October 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008095409/https://apnews.com/article/578736c800c1bc226629115404814fbd |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[August 29]] &ndash; [[Eduard Shevardnadze]], the [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] [[head of state]], survives an assassination attempt in [[Tbilisi]].
* [[August 30]] &ndash; [[Operation Deliberate Force]], the [[NATO]] bombing campaign against Bosnian Serb artillery positions, begins in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], continuing into September. At the same time, ARBiH forces begin an offensive against the Bosnian Serb Army around Sarajevo, central Bosnia and [[Bosnian Krajina]].

===September===
* September &ndash; The European Parliament elects the first [[European Ombudsman]], [[Jacob Söderman]], who takes up office this month.
* [[September 4]]–[[September 15|15]] &ndash; The [[Fourth World Conference on Women]] in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.
* [[September 19]] &ndash; ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and ''[[The New York Times]]'' publish the ''[[Industrial Society and Its Future|Unabomber Manifesto]]''
* [[September 26]] &ndash; The trial against former Italian Prime Minister [[Giulio Andreotti]], who is accused of [[Sicilian Mafia|Mafia]] connections, begins.
* [[September 27]]&ndash;[[September 28|28]] &ndash; [[Bob Denard]]'s [[mercenary|mercenaries]] capture [[List of heads of state of the Comoros|President]] [[Said Mohamed Djohar]] of the [[Comoros]]; the local army does not resist.

===October===
* [[October 3]] &ndash; [[Murder trial of O. J. Simpson]]: Former American football star [[O. J. Simpson]] is found not guilty of double murder in a criminal trial for the deaths of former wife [[Nicole Brown Simpson]] and her friend [[Ronald Goldman]].
* [[October 5]] &ndash; [[Tansu Çiller]] of [[True Path Party (Turkey)|DYP]] forms the new government of [[Turkey]] ([[51st government of Turkey|51st government]]), a minority government which lasts for less than a month.
* [[October 6]] &ndash; [[Michel Mayor]] and [[Didier Queloz]] announce the discovery of [[51 Pegasi b]], the first confirmed [[extrasolar planet]] orbiting an ordinary [[main sequence|main-sequence]] star.
* [[October 9]] &ndash; [[1995 Palo Verde, Arizona, derailment]] An Amtrak [[Sunset Limited]] train derails through sabotage at a trestle near Palo Verde, Arizona, United States, resulting in one death.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/11/us/fbi-studies-note-for-clues-on-derailment.html |title=F.B.I. Studies Note for Clues On Derailment |last=Labaton |first=Stephen |date=October 11, 1995 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 27, 2011 |archive-date=July 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705012122/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/11/us/fbi-studies-note-for-clues-on-derailment.html |url-status=live}}</ref> 
* [[October 16]] &ndash; The [[Million Man March]] is held in [[Washington, D.C.]] The event was conceived by [[Nation of Islam]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]].
* [[October 24]] &ndash; A [[Solar eclipse of October 24, 1995|total solar eclipse]] is visible from Iran, India, Thailand and Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite web |last=Espenak |first=Fred |url=http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEcat/SEdecade1991.html |website=NASA Eclipse Home Page |title=Solar Eclipses: 1991 &ndash; 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013212652/http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEcat/SEdecade1991.html |archive-date=October 13, 2007}}</ref>
* [[October 26]] &ndash; An [[avalanche]] hits the village [[Flateyri]] in [[Iceland]], killing 20 people, the second of two deadly avalanches to occur in Iceland during this calendar year.
* [[October 28]] &ndash; A [[1995 Baku Metro fire|fire in Baku Metro]], [[Azerbaijan]], kills 289 passengers, becoming the world's worst subway disaster.
* [[October 30]]
** [[Quebec]] independentists narrowly lose a [[1995 Quebec referendum|referendum]] for a mandate to negotiate independence from [[Canada]].
** [[Tansu Çiller]] of [[True Path Party (Turkey)|DYP]] forms the new government ([[52nd government of Turkey|52nd government]]) of [[Turkey]].

===November===
* November &ndash; The [[India]]n government officially renames the city of Bombay, restoring the name [[Mumbai]].
* [[November 1]]
** The last signal is received from [[NASA]]'s ''[[Pioneer 11]]'' spacecraft.
** Participants in the [[Yugoslav Wars]] begin negotiations at the [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]].
* [[November 2]] &ndash; The [[Supreme Court of Argentina]] orders the extradition of ex-S.S. captain [[Erich Priebke]].
* [[November 4]] &ndash; Israeli Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]] is [[Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin|assassinated at a peace rally]] in Tel Aviv.
* [[November 7]] &ndash; [[Typhoon Angela]] leaves the [[Philippines]] and [[Vietnam]] devastated, with 882 deaths and [[United States dollar|US$]]315 million in damage. The typhoon is the strongest to strike the Philippines in 25 years, with wind speeds of {{convert|130|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} and gusts of {{convert|180|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.
* [[November 12]] &ndash; The [[Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme]], a programme to implement the [[Harare Declaration]], is announced by the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government]].
* [[November 16]] &ndash; A United Nations tribunal charges [[Radovan Karadžić]] and [[Ratko Mladić]] with [[genocide]] during the [[Bosnian War]].
* [[November 20]] &ndash; A car bomb explosion outside the [[Egypt]]ian Embassy in [[Islamabad]], Pakistan destroys the façade of the building, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens more.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Khan |first1=Kamran |title=Blast Laid To Muslim Radicals Kills 15 At Egyptian Embassy In Pakistan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/11/20/blast-laid-to-muslim-radicals-kills-15-at-egyptian-embassy-in-pakistan/7e0c7b23-b271-4ee4-81d8-377ca97abbbe/ |access-date=30 July 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=20 November 1995}}</ref>
* [[November 21]] &ndash; The [[Dayton Agreement]] to end the [[Bosnian War]] is reached at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] near [[Dayton, Ohio]], United States (signed [[December 14]]).
* [[November 22]] &ndash; The 7.3 {{M|w}} [[1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake|Gulf of Aqaba earthquake]] shakes the Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia region with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of VIII (''Severe''), killing eight and injuring 30, and generating a non-destructive tsunami.
* [[November 28]] &ndash; Twenty-seven nations sign the Barcelona Treaty, creating the [[Union for the Mediterranean]].
* [[November 30]] &ndash; Operation [[Desert Storm]] officially ends.

===December===
*[[December 3]] &ndash; [[1995 strikes in France|Strikes]] paralyze France's public sector.
* [[December 6]] &ndash; The United States [[Food and Drug Administration]] approves [[Saquinavir]], the first [[Protease inhibitor (pharmacology)|protease inhibitor]] to treat [[HIV/AIDS]]. Within 2 years of its approval, annual deaths from AIDS in the United States fall from over 50,000 to approximately 18,000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HIV Surveillance --- United States, 1981--2008 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6021a2.htm |access-date=November 8, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109001606/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6021a2.htm |archive-date=November 9, 2013}}</ref>
* [[December 7]] &ndash; NASA's ''[[Galileo (spacecraft)#Galileo entry probe|Galileo Probe]]'' enters [[Jupiter]]'s atmosphere.
* [[December 8]] &ndash; Five-year-old [[Gyaincain Norbu]] is enthroned as the 11th [[reincarnation]] of the [[Panchen Lama]] at [[Tashilhunpo Monastery]].
* [[December 14]] &ndash; The [[Dayton Agreement]] is signed in Paris, officially ending the [[Bosnian War]].
* [[December 16]] &ndash; Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi scuba divers, under the direction of the [[United Nations Special Commission]], dredge the [[Tigris]] near [[Baghdad]]. The divers find over 200 prohibited Russian-made missile instruments and components.
* [[December 20]]
** [[American Airlines Flight 965]] ([[Boeing 757]]) crashes into a mountain near [[Buga, Valle del Cauca]], Colombia, killing 160 of the 164 on board.
** [[NATO]] begins peacekeeping in [[Bosnia]].
* [[December 23]] &ndash; [[Dabwali fire accident]]: The Rajiv Marriage Palace catches fire in [[Haryana]], India, killing 442 persons.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/Newsbriefs/9512/12-23/am.html?iref=allsearch About 400 killed in fire in India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310003543/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/Newsbriefs/9512/12-23/am.html?iref=allsearch |date=March 10, 2023 }}. CNN. Retrieved 2012-03-06.</ref>  
* [[December 30]] &ndash; The lowest ever United Kingdom temperature of {{Convert|-27.2|°C|°F|abbr=on}} is recorded at [[Altnaharra]] in the [[Scottish Highlands]]. This equals the record set at [[Braemar]], [[Aberdeenshire]] in [[1895#January–March|1895]] and [[1982#January|1982]].

===Date unknown===
* [[Sudden oak death]], the tree disease caused by the [[plant pathogen]] ''[[Phytophthora ramorum]]'', is first observed, in [[California]], United States.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hansard |first=Carolyn |title=Introduced Species Summary Project Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthora ramorum) |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Phytophthora_ramorum.htm |website=Columbia University |access-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515120400/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Phytophthora_ramorum.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>
* The first [[SampTA]] conference for mathematicians, engineers and applied scientists is held in [[Riga]], [[Latvia]].<ref>SampTA1995 [http://www.ciel.pl/projects/BENEFIT/Sampta95-Latvia.htm Sampta95 link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425114440/http://www.ciel.pl/projects/BENEFIT/Sampta95-Latvia.htm |date=April 25, 2012 }}</ref>

===World population===
{|class="wikitable"
!colspan="8"|[[World population]]
|-
!
!1995
!colspan="3"|[[1990]]
!colspan="3"|[[2000]]
|-
|align="left"|[[File:Globe.svg|50px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;World
|align="right"|'''5,674,380,000'''
|align="right"|5,263,593,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|410,787,000
|align="right"|6,070,581,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|396,201,000
|-
|align="left"|[[File:Africa satellite orthographic.jpg|50px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;Africa
|align="right"|'''707,462,000'''
|align="right"|622,443,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|85,019,000
|align="right"|795,671,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|88,209,000
|-
|align="left"|[[File:Two-point-equidistant-asia.jpg|50px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;Asia
|align="right"|'''3,430,052,000'''
|align="right"|3,167,807,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|262,245,000
|align="right"|3,679,737,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|249,685,000
|-
|align="left"|[[File:Europe satellite orthographic.jpg|50px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;Europe
|align="right"|'''725,405,000'''
|align="right"|721,582,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|5,823,000
|align="right"|730,986,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|5,581,000
|-
|
{| 
  |style="border: 0px;"|[[File:Latin America terrain.jpg|50px]]&nbsp;
  !style="border: 0px; font-weight:normal; text-align:left"|Latin America<br />& Caribbean
|}
|align="right"|'''481,099,000'''
|align="right"|441,525,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|39,574,000
|align="right"|520,229,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|39,130,000
|-
|
{| 
  |style="border: 0px;"|[[File:LocationWHNorthernAmerica.png|50px]]&nbsp;
  !style="border: 0px; font-weight:normal"|&nbsp;Northern<br />America
|}
|align="right"|'''299,438,000'''
|align="right"|283,549,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|15,889,000
|align="right"|315,915,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|16,477,000
|-
|align="left"|[[File:Oceania (World-Factbook).jpg|50px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;Oceania
|align="right"|'''28,924,000'''
|align="right"|26,687,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|2,237,000
|align="right"|31,043,000
|style="border-right-style:none;"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]]
|align="right" style="border-left-style:none;"|2,119,000
|}